State bodies must take responsibility for the 393 foreign-born children now missing, writes SR STANISLAUS KENNEDY.
ALMOST EXACTLY eight months ago, I wrote in this paper about the scandal of foreign children who are supposed to be under the care of the Health Service Executive (HSE) and who go missing each year in this country.
I wrote in the context of concerns held by the Immigrant Council of Ireland and others about the lack of knowledge of the scale of trafficking of women and children into, or through, this country for the purposes of sexual exploitation.
It has been suggested for some time now that a number of the children who go missing from HSE care are the victims of trafficking. I said eight months ago that it was a matter of great shame that we don't know what is happening to them.
I said then that Ireland can and must do better. So it is with a great deal of sadness and anger that I have read this week about the ongoing scandal of vulnerable children "disappearing" from the care of those who are charged with their safety.
We see now that the HSE has lost 388 children placed in its care over the past seven years. We do not know the fate of most of these children. Have they safely reunited with their families? Are they being abused or exploited? Are they dead or alive? Who in authority cares? What, exactly, is being done about it?
I have been campaigning for and writing about children in State care for nearly 40 years.
Four decades ago, I was concerned that there was a common attitude to children in care in this country of "these are not our children, they're not our responsibility". That has changed, not fully, but it has improved considerably in relation to Irish-born children. That same attitude, however, appears to be back now with a vengeance when those children are born elsewhere.
In fact, I would go further and suggest that there seems to be an attitude that these are not really children at all - an attitude that many are teenagers who have travelled from other parts of the world to get here. But they are children, vulnerable children, and they are our responsibility.
It is no longer good enough to wash our hands of this disgraceful situation. The Government, the Department of Health and Children and the HSE must face up to their responsibilities.
They should start by ending the practice of placing separated children who arrive in Ireland into hostels without proper care and supervision. The day they turn 18 they are on their own. Imagine the uproar if a vulnerable Irish child in the care of the State were treated in such a manner? Why then is it considered an acceptable practice in the case of foreign national children?
Children in State care should be given safe, appropriate accommodation with proper help, support, supervision and after-care.
A number of NGOs and politicians have raised this issue in the context of the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill, which is currently being debated in committee stage in the Dáil. The Government should not miss this opportunity to ensure it has the best legislative framework in place to deal with and provide an adequate response for these children in Ireland.
I call on the Government to put politics aside and to accept amendments that will help make this legislation better.
All State agencies with responsibility for children, the Garda National Immigration Bureau, An Garda Síochána and NGOs from the child welfare and immigration sectors should come together to discuss this issue openly and come up with constructive ways of working co- operatively on solutions.
There has been little evidence to date that children going missing from care, possibly being trafficked into or through Ireland for the purpose of sexual or labour exploitation, rate highly on the political agenda.
So far, we have heard red herrings about the fact that five Kenyan girls who came to Ireland were not in the care of the HSE at the time they too disappeared. Is that supposed to be a relief? What about the other 388 who were in its care?
What is being done to locate them and these five young girls?
I have read the HSE is pleased to report it is making "progress" on this issue because fewer children in its care have gone missing this year. We're not talking about car keys.
We are talking about vulnerable, young human beings.
I don't believe we will have made progress until we ensure that every single child who has become the responsibility of the State receives the care and protection they need. Accepting that every child in this country is precious, regardless of where they were born or their immigration status, must be the starting point.
I hope that, in another eight months, we will have seen some real progress on this issue.
Sr Stanislaus Kennedy is a social justice campaigner, and founder and board member of the Immigrant Council of Ireland