A new European report has highlighted “serious questions” regarding the trafficking and exploitation of vulnerable children in Ireland, claiming that the State is failing to protect unaccompanied asylum seeking children.
The Liberties Rule of Law annual report, published this week, highlighted an “impunity and/or lack of accountability for human rights violations” as a problem specific to Ireland. The leading civil liberties network pointed to Ireland’s “widespread human rights violations” and/or “persistent protection failures” regarding children.
The report referenced a December 2023 investigation by Noteworthy which found that 62 asylum-seeking children had disappeared from State care after arriving in Ireland alone.
The investigation revealed that 44 migrant children who had vanished from Tusla accommodation since 2017 are no longer being searched for by the child welfare agency, because they had turned 18 years old while they were missing.
In a significant number of cases, no public appeals were made for the missing children by An Garda Síochána, the report said. There are currently 16 ongoing appeals for the whereabouts of migrant children who have gone missing over the last six years, the gardaí’s missing persons database shows – despite records from State agency Tusla showing that over 60 children have disappeared and have not been located.
Referencing that report, Liberties notes:
“In December 2023, an investigation uncovered that 62 children seeking international protection in Ireland have disappeared from state care since 2017. Seventy-five percent of those missing have not been subject of missing person appeals. The report has raised serious questions regarding trafficking and exploitation of vulnerable children.”
The European agency makes a number of recommendations for Ireland, including to expedite the development of a new system for accommodating asylum seekers and conduct an investigation into the status of those minors reported missing from state care.
It also recommends ratifying the Optional Protocol (OPCAT) and amend the Inspection of Places of Detention Bill (which seeks to implement OPCAT) to ensure that direct provision centres and other con- gregated settings are subject to independent human rights focused inspections.
Berlin-based Liberties also raised concerns about insufficient and inadequate mental health services for children, as highlighted last February in a report from the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child.
Liberties, pointing to the Mental Health Commission’s Independent Review of Child and Adult Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in the State, undertaken by the Mental Health Commission, referred to “serious deficits in CAMHS” which “are resulting in the dysfunctional mental health services for children and young people.”
The EU report said that poor clinical governance, failure to manage risk, and inadequate oversight have “severely compromised” the safety and quality of care in CAMHS.
LACK OF EMERGENCY ACCOMMODATION
A lack of accommodation and homeless support was also an issue spotlighted in the report, with Liberties saying that there had been an increase of 250 per cent – per Mercy Law Centre (MLRC) – in the number of queries received relating to a refusal of access to emergency accommodation – temporary, emergency housing supports for those experiencing homelessness.
“This is a trend which continued into 2023. Many of these cases involved a failure to carry out a homeless assess- ment in line with the responsibilities of Local Authorities under Section 2 of the Housing Act 1988, or a failure to give reasons for a decision to refuse to provide emergency accommodation, in line with the requirements of fair procedures,” the report notes.
“The vast majority of these initial decisions were reversed following the engagement of MLRC, though the need to have recourse to solicitors to access basic, emergency homeless support is concerning. This rise in cases reflects a trend of increasingly formal barriers for people experiencing homelessness to access basic services such as emergency accommodation,” it added.
CENSORSHIP
In addition, the report highlighted concerns about censorship and self-censorship in Ireland, revealing that advocacy had been restricted by some “for fear of loss of government funding,” referencing a survey undertaken by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL).
“Over the course of 2023, ICCL conducted a large-scale survey of the voluntary and community sector and their experiences of advocacy,” Liberties wrote.
“The survey found that almost 40% of respondents have restricted their advocacy efforts for fear of loss of government funding. This rises to 50% for organisations involved in home- lessness and/or addiction services. There is a perception within the sector that speaking out on controversial issues or opposing government policy can result in implicit or explicit threats to withdraw funding.”
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How many peodophiles have come to light in TUSLA? They are probably running the show.
The best hiding place is in plain sight.
What about the organ harvesting Industry in Ireland which feeds off missing children.
Teens marry in NE and NW Nigeria, for example. Most young women are married by 18 there. They are sexually active at a very young age. A different culture. These same teens, if in Tusla care, would be children. That’s why I don’t care about them. They would fool you up to the two eyes, running some sexual racket of their own. They should not be let in at all. They are clearly being shipped here for that purpose and with their consent. They appear to use Tusla as a stepping stone to get here and into their racket, maybe they partner with men acceptable to them or it may be prostitution. The Irish state is not concerned about them, neither am I. If we did not have mass immigration and open borders, we would not have these migrant scams. They are taking advantage of Ireland. Out with them. Close the borders. However, I would be seriously concerned if an Irish girl disappeared. I hope Tusla is minding the Irish well who come to them for care. We must look after the Irish. This is their country.
There are some politicians, who I seriously suspect are not without knowledge of what is happening!
One of the reasons corporate states like IRL are run in a slipshod way is because their governments fund important sections of civil society that would otherwise be keeping governments on their toes. Some are, self-evidently, happy about that but others might not be although they might still be willing to accept Exchequer support, which makes life easier for the Government. Except that it doesn’t really. Problems just pile up. It will be interesting to see if Simon Harris is open to reviewing the State funding of the NGO sector and indeed if he scraps the HC Bill. Is he aware that funding civil society groups causes more problems for the Government in the long term? Will he replace the Justice Minister? Hopefully, GRIPt will request an interview with the new Taoiseach after he takes office.
I don’t think Harris will represent any change whatsoever… He’s every bit as woke as the rest of them and the NGOs will continue to be our effective overlords in this country.