Child asylum seekers to be removed from unsuitable hostels

SEPARATED children seeking asylum in this country will no longer be sent to unregulated hostels where large numbers have vanished without a trace.

Children’s Ombudsman Emily Logan has welcomed the move by the HSE which will see all these separated children removed from what she describes as “inferior care services” in the new year. Instead, they will be treated the same as Irish children and re-housed in ordinary residential care units or sent to foster families. They will also have access to social workers and other supports.

A year ago Ms Logan’s office published a report criticising the accommodation system for separated minors from overseas seeking asylum in Ireland, in which a large number of children left hostels never to be traced.