Eight migrant children might be missing in Carlow
Tusla is the agency responsible for unaccompanied minors
AS many as eight unaccompanied migrant children could be missing in Co Carlow, according to information shared at a recent council committee meeting.
People Before Profit councillor Adrienne Wallace told that during a meeting of Carlow County Council’s Strategic Policy Committee (SPC) on 10 September, a council representative confirmed that a number of unaccompanied minors in the county had gone missing.
“I asked the housing and integration SPC, and it was confirmed that there were seven or eight children in Carlow that had gone missing,” cllr Wallace told “Obviously I shared my concerns, and they said that Tusla and An Garda Síochána are aware and that it has been moved up to the highest authority.” Cllr Wallace said she raised the issue in light of national reports about missing unaccompanied minors across Ireland.
“Maybe the families were reunited, but it was also mentioned in the same meeting that there was an increase nationally in human trafficking, which is obviously where your mind goes first, especially with unaccompanied children. They’re so vulnerable,” added cllr Wallace.
contacted Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, and at the time of going to press had not received an official statement. Carlow County Council was also contacted for comment on the figures provided at the SPC meeting and in response said the matter ‘should be referred to Tusla who are the agency responsible for unaccompanied minors’.
The revelation comes amid growing concern over missing unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in state care. An investigation published by website in December 2023 found that 62 unaccompanied minors had disappeared from state care since 2017. Of those, 44 were no longer being searched for by Tusla because they had reached adulthood while still missing.
Garda records show only 16 active appeals for missing migrant children during the same period.
The investigation also found that no public appeals were issued in most cases, raising questions from child-protection groups about transparency and accountability.
Guillaume Landry, executive director of the international child-protection network ECPAT, told at the time: “If 20 local schoolchildren went missing in an emergency in Ireland tomorrow and the authorities just shrugged their shoulders, there would be outrage – where is the outrage for these missing children?”
Advocacy organisations have warned that unaccompanied minors are at heightened risk of trafficking and exploitation.
A July 2023 report by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) found that Tusla’s ‘Separated Children Seeking International Protection’ service failed to follow national protocols in some cases of missing children and issued an urgent compliance plan.
A separate investigation by the in 2023 found that of the unaccompanied minors who went missing while under Tusla’s care, only 18 were found or accounted for.
Fiona Finn, CEO of Cork-based migrant and refugee rights organisation Nasc, said at the time that it was vital that the government publicise the disappearances: “They do not have family members in Ireland who can advocate for them or speak to the press,” she said.
