A FESTERING administrative sore, involving the treatment of children who arrive in this State unaccompanied, has been laid bare by the Ombudsman for Children, Emily Logan. Individual aspects of her report, which catalogue the official neglect and adversarial treatment of young, vulnerable people, had surfaced from time to time. But they have now been compiled into a comprehensive and damning document.
During the past decade, the public has been shocked and angered by details of the physical and sexual abuse endured by Irish children in State-funded institutions and by clerical sexual abuse within the community. Under pressure, governments introduced legislative and other administrative changes to ensure that, insofar as it is possible, there will be no repetition. But some official agencies have not paid sufficient attention. Aspects of that old, hidden, repressive Ireland appear to be still alive and functioning.
Perhaps the most dreadful aspect of Ms Logan’s report concerns the official response, or lack of it, to the disappearance of separated children from care centres. It must be remembered that these vulnerable young people, under the age of 18, lack all parental or family support. Some of them may have been trafficked into the country by the sex industry. And yet, of the 454 children who went missing during an eight-year period while in the care of the Health Service Executive (HSE), only 58 were subsequently traced. This year, more than 23 children have gone missing.
It gets worse. The contrast between the official reaction to these missing children and to Irish-born children in HSE care is dreadful. All Irish-born children who went missing in that period were subsequently traced. But for separated, foreign-born children, the ratio was one-in-eight. Ms Logan described the apparent lack of investigations as “alarming”. And she noted that the majority of the children involved were not even listed on the Garda Síochána’s missing persons website.
There are some positive indications. Two of the offending hostels have been closed and the remainder will shut by the end of next year. Four new centres have opened and a system of foster care for separated children is being developed. The HSE has appointed a senior official to take charge. And Ms Logan expressed satisfaction with the co-operation she received while conducting her survey.
The number of separated children arriving here has fallen considerably in recent years. But that is no excuse for continuing to house vulnerable youngsters in dubious hostels without adequate supervision, where only security personnel are on duty at night. Many of the children involved do not speak English and have little knowledge of our society. Ms Logan recommends that these vulnerable youngsters should be supplied with an individual guardian/adviser and be provided with a complaints mechanism. Most of all, given our recent unhappy history, a special effort should be made to ensure they are protected from sexual abuse.