Dozens of child asylum seekers vanish without trace since 2014
MORE than 70 children who arrived on their own in Ireland over the past seven years to seek asylum have disappeared from State care — and almost 50 have never been found, new figures can reveal.
Since 2014, some 73 unaccompanied minors seeking asylum have vanished.
Just 26 of these vulnerable children were later found and returned to care, meaning 47 children are still currently missing, according to data released to the Sunday Independent from Tusla, the State’s child and family agency.
Last year, eight children who arrived alone seeking asylum vanished from State care, with just one child so far being located.
The previous year, a record high of 25 children went missing, with just six of them later tracked down by the authorities.
Over the seven-year period, from 2014 to 2020, an average of 10 unaccompanied minors went missing from State care each year. Just over one-third of these vulnerable young people were later found.
All unaccompanied minors who arrive into Ireland are referred to Tusla’s Team for Separated Children Seeking Asylum (TSCSA).
“In these situations, Tusla works closely with other agencies to ensure that young people who find themselves in difficult circumstances, in a different country, receive services — including care, family reunification and after-care support,” said a spokesperson for the child and family agency.
“The priority for separated children arriving into Ireland is to place them with their families where possible.
“Where family reunification is not possible, children are placed in a suitable residential placement which caters for the unique experiences and needs of separated children in Ireland.
All young people are offered educational and language supports, as well as wider supports — such as psychological supports, therapeutic services, opportunities for age-appropriate socialisation and support with spirituality and religion,” added the spokesperson.
When initially referred to TSCSA, each child is assessed to determine their best interests, including assessing their health issues and their journey to Ireland, as well as any human-trafficking indicators.
When unaccompanied minors go missing in care, they are subject to a formal reporting protocol between Tusla and An Garda Síochána.
The Irish Refugee Council has previously expressed concerns over the fate of unaccompanied children seeking asylum who disappear without a trace.
Separately, security sources say that “a proportion” of children who arrive in Ireland alone seeking asylum may in fact be older than they officially claim to be. This could be done in order to avoid going through the asylum process as adults.
Instead, some young adults may be presenting as unaccompanied minors to the State — and later disappearing, as it is easier to evade the authorities. This could be done in order to work illegally.
A security source said: “It’s shocking for unaccompanied children arriving here seeking refuge from war-torn countries to disappear without a trace. It’s extremely worrying.
“Many are being exploited by trafficking gangs.
“They are told exactly what to do — to abscond once they are placed in care.
“Then they go back to the gangs and work illegally for them, in various illegal industries — from kitchens to cannabis growhouses, or worse.
“But there is also a belief that some of the number of children who disappear are aged 18-plus.”
‘Some young adults could be presenting as minors and then abscond’