PART 1: SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHICS

Seperated Children Seeking Asylum

A number of areas can influence the well-being of separated children seeking asylum since they do not have parental or family support in their day-to-day lives. 9 In addition, they may experience difficulties around language, culture, religion, social norms and oppression. 10

Measure

The number of separated children seeking asylum.

Key findings

  • In 2006, the number of separated children seeking asylum was 569 (see Table 21).
  • 90.9% (517) of separated children seeking asylum were in the HSE Dublin Mid-Leinster area.

Table 21: Number of separated children seeking asylum, by HSE Region (2006)

HSE Region Total
Dublin Mid-Leinster 517
Dublin North-East 9
West 17
South 26
State 569

Source: Census of the Population, CSO

Differences by gender and age

  • In 2006, of the 569 separated children seeking asylum, 276 were boys and 293 were girls (see Table 22).
  • Approximately one in 3 separated children seeking asylum (34.6%) were less than 10 years of age.

Table 22: Number of separated children seeking asylum, by gender, age and HSE Region (2006)

HSE Region   Age Dublin
Mid-Leinster		 Dublin
North-East		 West South State
Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls
<1 year 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2
1 year 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1
2 years 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3
3 years 5 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 7
4 years 5 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 9
5 years 10 22 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 22
6 years 12 12 0 0 0 0 1 0 13 12
7 years 10 12 0 0 0 0 2 1 12 13
8 years 12 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 14
9 years 12 10 0 0 0 0 0 1 12 11
10 years 13 15 1 1 0 0 1 0 15 16
11 years 19 8 1 0 0 1 1 0 21 9
12 years 13 12 2 0 0 0 1 1 16 13
13 years 11 12 0 0 1 0 0 0 12 12
14 years 13 14 0 0 1 0 0 1 14 15
15 years 20 30 0 0 0 1 3 0 23 31
16 years 49 62 1 0 1 1 0 3 51 66
17 years 31 31 2 1 11 0 6 2 50 34
18 years 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 3
State,
by gender

240

277

 7 2 14 3 15 11 276 293
State 517 9 17 26 569

Source: Census of the Population, CSO

  • In 2006, 57.7% (328) of the separated children seeking asylum were reunited with their families; 37.6% (214) were placed in the care of the HSE; and 0.5% (3) were found not to be minors (see Table 23 and Figure 6). The outcomes for the remaining 4.2% (24) were not classified.

Table 23: Outcomes for separated children seeking asylum, by gender and HSE Region (2006)

HSE Region   Outcome Dublin
Mid-Leinster		 Dublin
North-East		 West South Total
Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls
Reunited with family 134 161 7 2 11 0 8 5 160 168
Placed in care 98 109 0 0 2 3 0 2 100 114
Found not to be a minor 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2
Other 7 5 0 0 1 0 7 4 15 9
State,
by gender		 240 277 7 2 14 3 15 11 276 293
Total 517 9 17 26 569

Source: Childcare Interim Dataset, HSE

 

Figure 6: Outcomes for separated children seeking asylum (2006)

Figure1

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9 OMCYA (2006) State of the Nation's Children: Ireland 2006, Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. Dublin: The Stationery Office. Available at: www.childrensdatabase.ie OR www.omc.gov.ie

10 Thomas, S. and Byford, S. (2003) 'Research with unaccompanied children seeking asylum', British Medical Journal, Vol. 327, pp. 1400-02.