Concerns raised over unaccompanied minors missing from Tusla’s care

Local councils should play a role in sourcing accommodation for children in care, to relieve some of the pressure currently faced by Tusla, the child and family agency, the head of the Children’s Rights Alliance has said.

Tusla has been under serious strain to find suitable accommodation for children taken into State care, resulting in a growing reliance on emergency arrangements such as hotels or bed and breakfasts.

Tanya Ward, chief executive of the Children’s Rights Alliance, said responsibility for addressing the crisis in the care system should not “just land on the door” of Tusla.

“We can’t just have one agency working in a very siloed approach. We have to see a huge involvement with other Government department partners in this area,” she said.

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Senior Tusla executives have warned the State agency has reached a crisis point, due to an increase in referrals about children, a large rise in unaccompanied minors seeking asylum, and a lack of appropriate accommodation.

Last week it emerged retired Dublin District Court judge Dermot Simms had written to the Government and Tusla, criticising the “unprecedented crisis” in the care system.

The May 17th, 2023 correspondence said up to 130 highly vulnerable children were in “unsuitable” and “unapproved” placements, such as holiday centres, hotels and B&Bs because there was nowhere else to put them.

Tusla has increasingly had to place children in care in these emergency placements, often due to a shortage of space in appropriate residential care homes.

It is understood a significant number of unaccompanied minors seeking asylum in the care of Tusla are being housed in these emergency placements.

Speaking on Monday, Ms Ward said she was shocked at reports fifteen unaccompanied minors in the Republic had gone missing from Tusla’s care in the last year and were unaccounted for.

“We understand from Tusla is that some of these young people arrived in the country and moved on very quickly to be joined by their families, but some children, there is a real fear that there is a risk of exploitation and some of the worst forms of exploitation, sexual exploitation and prostitution,” she told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland.

There are currently more than 200 unaccompanied minors being cared for by Tusla, a significant cohort of which are Ukrainian.

Ms Ward said Tusla had a “mammoth task” to respond to the needs of this vulnerable cohort.

“Sometimes they’re sent here because the parents have been involved in politics and they’re afraid of reprisals. At the other end of the spectrum, there are young people who are 15, 16, 17 coming from countries like Afghanistan,” she said.

The increased numbers of unaccompanied minors came at a time when Tusla was facing a “crisis” finding accommodation for young people in care, she said.

“It concerns me when I hear social workers are frantically looking for accommodation, when they should be focused on developing care plans and working with young people directly,” she said.