Four children who previously lived in the former refugee camp known as ‘the Jungle’ in Calais will arrive in Ireland in the coming days, bringing the total number of separated children from Calais in Ireland to 30.
Further children are currently being assessed and screened for admission to Ireland and will be met by specialist Tusla – Child and Family Agency social workers in the coming weeks.
Welcoming the news the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Dr Katherine Zappone said:
“Warlords, criminals and thugs have put children in the frontline. Forced to flee poison gas, barrel bombs and bullets many end up separated from their loved ones – often during a perilous journey at the hands of human traffickers.
It is not enough to condemn those who target our children – we must also offer support and an opportunity to restart young lives. At my request the child and family agency, Tusla, established a national project office to ensure Ireland is in a position to welcome separated children.
Tusla experts have also been on the ground in camps in France and the refugee hotspots of Europe to assess children to restart their lives here. It is something we should all be immensely proud of.
In addition to saying ‘Fáilte’ to our new arrivals I also intend outlining the approach Ireland has taken in terms of separated children when I address a special gathering of the United Nations Security Council next Tuesday.”
Speaking today, Jim Gibson, Tusla Chief Operations Officer, said “Tusla is committed to working in partnership with other agencies to implement the Government’s decision to accept separated children who previously lived in the unregistered refugee camp in Calais.
We are proud that to date 26 children have been brought to Ireland from Calais and provided with specialist care and support in light of the traumatic experiences many of them have had before arriving here.
Our staff will be on the ground in France this week meeting further young people and will work to ensure their safe travel to Ireland and where possible their reunification with their families.”
About Tusla’s work with separated children
Since the Government’s decision to accept separated children from Calais, Tusla has travelled to France on 10 missions to meet, assess and screen young people with a further two missions planned in October and November. As part of each mission, social workers travel to France with members of An Garda Síochána’s Special Detective Unit. Specialist social workers will travel to France tomorrow (Thursday 26th October) for the next mission.
All children arriving from France are allocated social workers and placements before they arrive to ensure as smooth a transition as possible to life in Ireland. All children are provided with an intake assessment which explores the child’s identity, family, known health issues, educational experience, journey to Ireland, significant pre-migration and migratory events, screening for trafficking indicators and identifying any possible Irish and/or EU resources e.g. family or social contacts, wider networks, etc.
Separated children arriving into Ireland have access to a range of supports, including:
· The City of Dublin Education and Training Board (CDETB) has developed a Separated Children’s Education Service catering to the educational and English language needs of children arriving unaccompanied into Ireland. The service offers a range of education-related services as well as an outreach and youth service to separated children, young people who arrived into Ireland as separated children but are now aged over 18 and other young refugees living in Dublin. The service aims to empower separated children and young people to live independent and healthy lives and to integrate into society.
· A general medical screening shortly after arrival. On-going medical attention is provided as needed.
· Wider services are based on the individual needs of the child and may include for example psychological supports, other therapeutic services, social integration into Irish society, opportunities for age-appropriate socialisation and support with spirituality and religion.
The priority for separated children arriving into Ireland is to place them with their families where possible. Where family reunification is not possible, a child is placed with a suitable foster family. Tusla has a number of foster carers specifically trained in the unique experiences and needs of separated children in Ireland. On-going training and development sessions are available to all foster carers. Each foster family has their own allocated social worker to provide support.