2,700 non-national children referred to Eastern Health Board
More than 2,700 non-national children separated from both parents have been referred to the East Coast Area Health Board in the past five years, according to a new report from the Irish Refugee Council.
More than half of these children have made applications for asylum.
The main countries of origin, according to the Separated Children Seeking Asylum in Ireland report, were Nigeria, Romania, Sierra Leone, Congo and Moldova.
The Refugee Council report said these separated children face many problems in Ireland, including unsupervised hostels and inadequate diets. The children also have less educational opportunities due to a lack of guardianship and their situation leaves them open to possible abuse or sexual exploitation.
The report said the monitoring system for these children is insufficient, with 160 failing to appear for their first asylum interview. In many cases, their whereabouts are still unknown.
