Missing: 37 children the HSE failed to protect
Concerns are rising for the well-being of children who are missing from state care
Ken Foxe, Public Affairs Correspondent
Missing: Adel Azizi
Missing: Andrey Bolskov
Missing: Ecaterina Bivol
Missing: Alem Alddiene
Missing: Faith Egharevba
Missing: Jennifer Anne Bena Prince
Missing: Yan Yan Huang
Missing: Ying Chen
AT LEAST 40 youngsters have gone missing and vanished without trace while in the care of the Health Service Executive (HSE) in the past three years.
The vast majority of them were young asylum seekers, who had arrived in the country as so-called "unaccompanied minors".
According to figures from the HSE, a total of 54 young asylum-seekers vanished during the course of 2007 and 2008.
Of that number, 37 remain unaccounted for, sparking serious concerns for their well-being and the possibility they were victims of human trafficking or worse.
The number of Irish-born children going missing is also high, according to the HSE, with 53 children disappearing in the first six months of this year. Of that number, however, just two remain unaccounted for.
The HSE has also disclosed that a significant number of young asylum-seekers in its care are becoming pregnant.
Last year, eight unaccompanied minors were reported to be pregnant, while in 2007 11 youngsters found themselves expecting a child.
In some cases, those involved were under the age of consent, according to immigration officers, and would have been technically the victims of statutory rape.
During that period, a total of 429 young non-nationals arrived in Ireland seeking asylum and ended up in the care of the HSE.
A handful of young asylum seekers were also taken into care after being victims of sexual abuse in their homes, the Sunday Tribune has learned.
In total, 59 children have ended up under the care of the HSE, when it was believed they had been the victim of a sexual assault or ongoing abuse.
Fine Gael spokesman on children Alan Shatter said: "This is a continuing problem and there are very substantial concerns with regard to child protection service failures with respect to unaccompanied minors.
"Fine Gael has been very critical of the way unaccompanied minors are being treated and particularly the type of unsupervised residential care in use.
"There is a very real concern that some of these people are being trafficked and sexually exploited and these figures are a stark illustration of what is wrong with this service.
"It is very worrying the amount of children that have disappeared in the past two years but also the number of young girls who have become pregnant.
"The state has an obligation to all children regardless of their origin or their ethnic background but it seems as if these children are being treated as if they are of lesser value than Irish-born children."
Gardaí have said many newly-arrived asylum seekers are still pretending to be juveniles in order to be allowed to stay in Dublin.
There are advantages to masquerading as a minor, including guaranteed residency at a centre in Dublin, better educational facilities and the perception that asylum applications will be judged more favourably.
July 19, 2009
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