Up to 42 children missing in Tusla care at one point in 2026

Michael Bolton

Figures from Tusla show that up to 42 children were missing under their care at one point this year.

In a document seen by BreakingNews.ie, 42 children were missing on March 26th.

Of those children, 27 were categorised as Separated Children Seeking International Protection (SCSIP). The other 15 children were part of the so-called Mainstream in Contact.

Children reported missing fall into two categories: the number of missing children in the mainstream care population and Separated Children Seeking International Protection (SCSIP).

On January 1st this year, there were 40 children missing while under Tusla's care. Of these, 29 children were missing under SCSIP, while 11 were missing under mainstream.

On January 15th, 39 children were missing from Tusla's care, with 28 missing under SCSIP, while 11 were missing under mainstream.

On February 26th and April 4th, there were 38 children missing. In February, 27 were missing under SCSIP, with 11 in mainstream.

Once a young person has been reported missing, An Garda Síochána has primary responsibility for investigating the young person’s whereabouts. Throughout the Garda investigation, the young person’s social worker and carers continue to make enquiries with people who may be able to assist with the investigation.

All information gathered through these enquiries is passed onto An Garda Síochána. Most young people reported as ‘missing’ return to their placement after a brief period of time and remain in a safe and caring environment and others remain in contact.

Some unaccompanied minors who go missing from care communicate their intention to travel on to other countries to join family members, and some indicate that it was never their intention to remain in Ireland and leave soon after they arrive in the country.

In a statement, Tusla said: "For those who do not subsequently make us aware of their whereabouts, these young people
are counted as missing. In certain situations, where a young person is absent from their care placement for more
than 15 minutes, they may be reported as ‘missing’ from care under the Joint Protocol.

"This could be for a range of reasons, such as missing their curfew or not returning to their placement at an agreed time. All young people in residential care have a Placement Support Plan (PSP) based on their individual needs, which outlines when the young person
would be classified as missing from care (e.g. once they leave the residential setting, ordon’t return at an agreed time).

"However, the reason for going missing is not tracked as a national metric, the incident is noted on the individual case file."