82 child welfare incidents referred to asylum agency's family services unit last year

The latest annual report from the Reception and Integration Agency shows that 82 child protection and welfare incidents were reported to its Child and Family Services Unit in 2017 as the numbers accommodated by RIA since the introduction of State-Provided Accommodation in 1999 exceeded 59,830 persons.

The RIA also reveal that 63 reports were made to gardaí about suspected victims of people trafficking; 502 contracted bed spaces were lost at various times in Direct Provision centres around the country because of cases of chickenpox; and that the number of applications from people seeking asylum and the numbers in the Direct Provision system increased.