Vast majority of missing children in Ireland are migrant kids

he Office of the Ombudsman for Children has said there should be a full investigation into each missing child

Concerns have been raised about the high percentage of migrant children who are among the missing kids of Ireland.

More than 130 children who have gone missing in Ireland since 1977 have never been found, with the vast majority migrant children.

An analysis by the Irish Examiner of missing persons databases, published by gardaí and Interpol, found that:

• 25 children who have gone missing between 2020 and the end of 2024 remain missing;
• 94 disappeared between 2000 and 2010 and remain missing ;
• Of these, 40 Chinese teenagers went missing between October 2006 and December 2009, mainly from addresses in Dublin. Some of those disappearances were on the same day - for example, three were last seen in Dublin city centre on January 1, 2009;
• 11 young people went from accommodation on South Richmond Street, Dublin 2 between 2005 and 2009, while five who had been in accommodation on North Circular Road, Dublin 7, disappeared on dates between 2005 and 2007.

The Office of the Ombudsman for Children has said there should be a full investigation into each missing child.

"We are especially mindful of the particular vulnerability of unaccompanied children seeking refuge in Ireland, who are often deeply traumatised by what they have had to endure in their country of origin or on a migratory route. These children are at high risk of going missing. 

"We know that the reason for their disappearance can vary from inefficient guardian-appointment procedures; fear of deportation; the desire to join family or friends in another country; and violence and abuse, including labour and criminal exploitation. 

"This is why we have repeatedly raised the need for equal standards of care for unaccompanied minors in our contributions on the review of the Child Care Act 1991, and at every opportunity, to ensure that they are protected.”