The special needs of vulnerable, and often traumatised, child asylum-seekers who have become separated from their parents are not being met by the State, the Irish Refugee Council has said.
The council wants guardians to be appointed to represent the interests of all unaccompanied children under 18 who arrive in the State to apply for refugee status.
Some 74 children, separated from their parents or carers, are currently seeking refugee status, according to Ms Sara MacNeice, the council's legal officer. The youngest child was 13 but most were around 15 or 16, she said, and they were termed asylum-seekers while their applications for refugee status were being considered.
Ms MacNeice said minors claiming asylum were treated almost exactly the same as adults and were not offered special accommodation or counselling.
She was speaking at the launch last night of a report she has co-authored with Ms Laura Almirall on the legal and social conditions of child asylum-seekers who have been separated from their parents or carers. Ms MacNeice said these children were often brought in by illegal agents and left at the airport or Dublin city centre.
"When they arrive they are often traumatised," she said. "They may have lost their parents in wars, or as a result of conflict or something that has led them to flee the country, so they are, for the most part, extremely vulnerable when they arrive. "Many of them are grieving and it's very difficult, because they have no one to recognise that they have special needs."
Ms MacNeice said there had been some cases where children had gone through the asylum-application process without any legal advice. She said they were housed in hostels or bed and breakfast accommodation along with adult asylum-seekers. "Their specific accommodation needs are not being met," she said.
The report recommends that separated children be placed in suitable accommodation with children of a similar cultural background and age. It says a social worker should be appointed to assess their needs and ensure they are met. It also calls for a special unit within the Department of Justice's asylum division to deal with applications from unaccompanied children.
Ms MacNeice said the treatment of these children was out of line with the State's international obligations.