Ireland could become a gateway for the trafficking of children because it does not follow best international practice to safeguard children at risk, the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC) claimed today.
The ISPCC expressed concern that the Government is not doing enough to protect separated children entering the country. Separated children are minors, generally between 15 and 17, who enter the country unaccompanied by a parent or guardian.
According to the ISPCC, fewer than 5 per cent of these children are identified at a port of entry, and more than 316 separated children have gone missing in Ireland in the past four years.
The charity claims that separated children who go missing are at significant risk of being trafficked and is calling for the State to commit to investigating their location.
A US State Department Trafficking report published last June observed that Ireland is a transit and destination country for a significant number of trafficking victims from Eastern Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia.
Speaking to ireland.comthis afternoon, Mary Nicholson of the ISPCC said the Government needed to establish a multidisciplinary reception team in the main airports and ports with staff trained to identify victims of trafficking and to deal with separated or trafficked children
"Not enough is being done to deal with this problem. The Government needs to ratify the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography," she said.
She also called for the development of safe, 24-hour accommodation for separated minors and victims of trafficking.