APPROACHES TO UNACCOMPANIED MINORS FOLLOWING STATUS DETERMINATION IN IRELAND. ESRI RESEARCH SERIES NUMBER 83 DECEMBER 2018

Groarke, Sarah and Arnold, Samantha (2018) APPROACHES TO UNACCOMPANIED MINORS FOLLOWING STATUS DETERMINATION IN IRELAND. ESRI RESEARCH SERIES NUMBER 83 DECEMBER 2018. UNSPECIFIED.

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Abstract

An estimated 45,500 unaccompanied minors – children below the age of 18 who are not in the care of, or accompanied by, a responsible adult – lodged asylum applications globally in 2017,1 representing a 33 per cent increase since 2014 (34,300) (UNHCR, 2018). In 2017, over 650,000 people lodged an application for international protection in the European Union (EU) (Eurostat, 2018a), 31,395 of whom were unaccompanied minors (Eurostat, 2018b), constituting more than a 30 per cent increase since 2014. The number of unaccompanied minors recorded in Ireland is low compared to other EU Member States. However, consistent with EU and international trends, this number has increased since 2014. In 2017, 175 unaccompanied minors were referred to the Social Work Team for Separated Children Seeking Asylum (Dublin) (SWTSCSA) of the Child and Family Agency, Tusla (Tusla), which is responsible for the care of unaccompanied minors in Ireland, up from 97 in 2014 (Tusla, 2018d, 2018e). Much comparative information and research exists on the practices in Ireland and in EU Member States concerning unaccompanied minors seeking international protection. There is less research and up-to-date information on the practices and integration measures in place for unaccompanied minors who have received an international protection or immigration status decision. This study examines the policies and practices on unaccompanied minors following an international protection or immigration status decision in Ireland. Principally, it looks at two potential outcomes for unaccompanied minors in Ireland: a positive decision for immigration permission or international protection and subsequent integration in-country and forced or voluntary return. The study also looks at implications arising from a lack of status.

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