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Approaches to Unaccompanied Minors Following Status Determination in Ireland

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Approaches to Unaccompanied Minors Following Status Determination in Ireland ESRI RESEARCH SERIES APPROACHES TO UNACCOMPANIED NUMBER 83 December 2018 MINORS FOLLOWING STATUS DETERMINATION IN IRELAND SARAH GROARKE AND SAMANTHA ARNOLD FO NCE R PO DE LI VI C E Y EMN Ireland is funded by the European Union's Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund and co- funded by the Department of Justice and Equality. APPROACHES TO UNACCOMPANIED MINORS FOLLOWING STATUS DETERMINATION IN IRELAND Sarah Groarke Samantha Arnold December 2018 RESEARCH SERIES NUMBER 83 Study completed by the Irish National Contact Point of the European Migration Network (EMN), which is financially supported by the European Union and the Irish Department of Justice and Equality. The EMN was established via Council Decision 2008/381/EC. Available to download from www.emn.ie The Economic and Social Research Institute Whitaker Square, Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, Dublin 2 ISBN: 978-0-7070-0476-1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.26504/rs83 This Open Access work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. THE EUROPEAN MIGRATION NETWORK The aim of the European Migration Network (EMN) is to provide up-to-date, objective, reliable and comparable information on migration and asylum at Member State and EU levels with a view to supporting policymaking and informing the general public. The Irish National Contact Point of the European Migration Network, EMN Ireland, sits within the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI). ABOUT THE ESRI The mission of the Economic and Social Research Institute is to advance evidence- based policymaking that supports economic sustainability and social progress in Ireland. ESRI researchers apply the highest standards of academic excellence to challenges facing policymakers, focusing on 12 areas of critical importance to 21st Century Ireland. The Institute was founded in 1960 by a group of senior civil servants led by Dr T.K. Whitaker, who identified the need for independent and in-depth research analysis to provide a robust evidence base for policymaking in Ireland. Since then, the Institute has remained committed to independent research and its work is free of any expressed ideology or political position. The Institute publishes all research reaching the appropriate academic standard, irrespective of its findings or who funds the research. The quality of its research output is guaranteed by a rigorous peer review process. ESRI researchers are experts in their fields and are committed to producing work that meets the highest academic standards and practices. The work of the Institute is disseminated widely in books, journal articles and reports. ESRI publications are available to download, free of charge, from its website. Additionally, ESRI staff communicate research findings at regular conferences and seminars. The ESRI is a company limited by guarantee, answerable to its members and governed by a Council, comprising 14 members who represent a cross-section of ESRI members from academia, civil services, state agencies, businesses and civil society. The Institute receives an annual grant-in-aid from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to support the scientific and public interest elements of the Institute’s activities; the grant accounted for an average of 30 per cent of the Institute’s income over the lifetime of the last Research Strategy. The remaining funding comes from research programmes supported by government departments and agencies, public bodies and competitive research programmes. Further information is available at www.esri.ie. THE AUTHORS Sarah Groarke is a Research Assistant at the Irish National Contact Point of the European Migration Network (EMN Ireland), within the ESRI. Samantha Arnold is a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow with EMN Ireland. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In compiling this study, valuable assistance was received from representatives of the Child and Family Agency, Tusla’s Social Work Team for Separated Children Seeking Asylum, the City of Dublin Education and Training Board’s Youth and Education Service for Refugees and Migrants and the Immigrant Council of Ireland. Information was also sought through correspondence with the International Organization for Migration, the International Protection Office, the Irish Refugee Protection Programme, the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service, the Legal Aid Board, Spirasi and the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. We also acknowledge the useful comments and suggestions received from the referees. Finally, thanks are due to our colleagues Elaine Byrne, Emma Quinn, Sarah Burns and Christina Durst at the ESRI. We are grateful to everyone who shared their expertise with us for the purpose of writing this study. ABOUT THIS REPORT This European Migration Network study examines the policies and practices on unaccompanied minors following a status decision in Ireland. Principally, this study looks at two potential outcomes for unaccompanied minors in Ireland: a positive decision for immigration permission or international protection and subsequent integration in-country and forced or voluntary return. The report consists of information gathered by way of a common template, primarily for an overview, EU-level synthesis report: Approaches to Unaccompanied Minors Following Status Determination in the EU plus Norway. All reports are made available at: https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/what-we- do/networks/european_migration_network_en. This report has been accepted for publication by the Institute, which does not itself take institutional policy positions. All ESRI Research Series reports are peer reviewed prior to publication. The authors are solely responsible for the content and the views expressed do not represent the position of the Economic and Social Research Institute, the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service, the Department of Justice and Equality, or the European Commission, Directorate-General Migration and Home Affairs. TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary .................................................................................................................................. i CHAPTER 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 7 1.1 Objectives and background to the study ................................................................................ 7 1.2 Policy context: Ireland in an EU context ................................................................................. 9 1.3 Structure of the study ........................................................................................................... 12 1.4 Methodology ......................................................................................................................... 13 1.5 Definitions and scope ............................................................................................................ 14 CHAPTER 2: Unaccompanied minors in Ireland and the EU: profile, flows and data ........................... 17 2.1 Overview of main trends regarding unaccompanied minors in Europe ............................... 17 2.2 Overview of main trends regarding unaccompanied minors in Ireland ............................... 21 2.2.1 Referrals to Tusla ...................................................................................................... 21 2.2.2 Irish Refugee Protection Programme ....................................................................... 23 2.2.3 Protection applications and grants ........................................................................... 24 2.2.4 Return ....................................................................................................................... 27 2.2.5 Challenges arising from data gaps ............................................................................ 28 CHAPTER 3: Pathways to status for unaccompanied minors ............................................................... 31 3.1 Unaccompanied minors arriving in Ireland seeking international protection ...................... 33 3.1.1 International protection and permission to remain ................................................. 33 3.1.2 Access to international protection for spontaneously arriving unaccompanied minors ....................................................................................................................... 35 3.1.3 Unaccompanied minors arriving in Ireland through government-led programmes 37 3.2 Alternative immigration statuses for unaccompanied minors ............................................. 38 3.2.1 Addressing the interaction of children in care with the immigration system .......... 40 3.3 Unaccompanied minor victims of trafficking ........................................................................ 41 CHAPTER 4: Care ................................................................................................................................... 43 4.1 Care of unaccompanied minors: law and policy ................................................................... 43 4.1.1 Future plans .............................................................................................................. 45 4.2 Accommodation .................................................................................................................... 46 4.2.1 Residential units ......................................................................................................
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