The Ombudsman for Children has expressed concern to the Government that children being trafficked into the country are accommodated in privately-operated hostels which lack sufficient staff or security.
In observations sent to the Minister for Justice on forthcoming legislation aimed at combating human trafficking, Emily Logan said these failings needed to be urgently addressed.
"Secure and suitable accommodation is vital for child victims of trafficking, especially in the initial period of seeking to escape the influence of traffickers," she wrote.
"The accommodation currently available to such victims falls short of this requirement and additional resources should be made available to the Health Service Executive (HSE) as a matter of urgency in order to rectify the situation."
International research suggests that significant numbers of unaccompanied children who seek asylum are being trafficked here for financial or sexual exploitation.
The Irish Timesreported last year that eight of the nine centres in the Dublin area which accommodate about 180 separated children seeking asylum - some of whom are trafficked here - are not registered to operate or provide accommodation for children.
One of the centres which accommodates about 24 children under 17 failed to meet the standards necessary for it to be registered a year ago. However, it continued to operate.
During this time care staff at the unit - which is funded by the HSE - had expressed concern over missing children, rape allegations and violence within the unit.
Staff at the hostel had requested an extra childcare worker to mind a 15-year-old Somali girl who had been rescued from a brothel after being trafficked into the country. The request was refused, according to social workers, and the girl disappeared a day later.
While some victims of child trafficking are placed in foster care, most of them are housed in privately run hostels that are not subject to inspection by the Social Services Inspectorate. Ms Logan said the absence of sufficient care staff and of appropriate security at these facilities was a serious deficiency in the current regime.
"Victims of trafficking, and indeed unaccompanied minors generally, receive a lower level of protection and assistance than Irish children in care," she said. In total more than 300 unaccompanied minors seeking asylum have gone missing from State care over the past five years.
Lack of funding means social workers are not able to follow up on all cases of separated children who are reunifiedwith their families, or people claiming to be their families.
Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act last year show funding requests by the HSE to the department for extra resources in this areas "remained unanswered despite repeated submissions" since 2001.
