EUROPEAN MIGRATION NETWORK. Policies and Practices on Unaccompanied Minors in Ireland

Quinn, Emma and Joyce, Corona and Gusciute, Egle (2014) EUROPEAN MIGRATION NETWORK. Policies and Practices on Unaccompanied Minors in Ireland. UNSPECIFIED.

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Abstract

This study is a broad-ranging exploration of the policies and practices in place for unaccompanied minors in Ireland. Unaccompanied minors and separated children, broadly defined as children below the age of eighteen, who are not in the care of/accompanied by a responsible adult, form a particularly vulnerable migrant group. While at EU-level there are indications that the number of unaccompanied minors moving to and within the region is increasing, in Ireland the trend is downward. For example, between 2000 and 2008 some 5,688 unaccompanied minors were referred to the specialist TUSLA Social Work Team for Separated Children Seeking Asylum (SWTSCSA) in Dublin, while in the period January 2009 - October 2014, 661 referrals took place. In addition to reduced flows, recent years have seen the introduction of a generally improved model of care for such children. Notwithstanding these improvements key challenges remain and these are discussed in detail in this report.

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