International Protection Bill 2026: Committee Stage (Resumed) Seanad Éireann — 2026-03-19 ============================================================ Jim O'Callaghan (FF), Dublin Bay South I do not propose to accept amendments Nos. 100, 104, 107, 112 or 114. Amendments Nos. 17 and 18 are simple technical amendments related to amendment No. 106, which I will outline later. Amendment No. 23 is a technical amendment related to amendment No. 98. Amendment No. 98 provides for the designation of the competent authority in respect of representatives. Amendment No. 29 clarifies the notification procedure when it comes to the attention of a relevant body that an applicant may be an unaccompanied minor. Amendment No. 100 seeks to require the appointment of a representative within the specified period of three working days, and provides that in the interim, necessary measures should be taken to safeguard the welfare and best interests of the minor. The proposed amendment does not align with the directive or regulation requirements, which require that a provisional representative is appointed as soon as possible, and that a long-term representative is appointed within 15 days. The proposed amendment would reduce the rights of unaccompanied minors in the State and I do not propose to accept it. Amendments Nos. 101 to 103, inclusive, are technical amendments related to the improved layout of the Chapter. The text proposed to be deleted is now provided for more coherently as part of the revised section 47, which is set out in amendment No. 116. Amendment No. 104 seeks to ensure that a representative may be appointed to no more than 30 unaccompanied minors at one time. As my own amendment No. 116 provides explicitly for this matter, I do not see any need to accept amendment No. 104. Amendment No. 106 reorganises section 44 to clarify the procedure for representative organisations to appoint provisional representatives and representatives. Amendment No. 107 concerns regular training for representatives and the prohibition of representatives having a record of criminal offences concerning children. Training requirements for representatives are covered in section 43 and the revised section 47, and will be further developed by the regulations to be made under section 50. I believe that further provision is unnecessary. Individuals with a record of criminal offences concerning children will, of course, be precluded from acting as representatives and provisional representatives. The appropriate places for such provision are the Children First Act 2015 and the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012. My officials and the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel are finalising the text of these provisions and they will be brought forward on Report Stage. Therefore, I cannot accept amendment No. 107. Amendments Nos. 108 to 111, inclusive, are technical amendments which relate to amendment No. 106 and its clarifications to section 44. Amendment No. 112, like amendment No. 107, relates to training and vetting for representatives. It cannot be accepted for the same reasons as I have stated in relation to amendment No. 107. Amendment No. 113 facilitates the work of representatives by providing them with access to the unaccompanied minors file. Amendment No. 114 relates to the caseloads assigned to each representative. My own amendment, No. 116, provides for this matter and therefore it is not necessary to accept amendment No. 114. Amendment No. 115 is related to amendment No. 113 and facilitates the work of representatives by ensuring they are provided with the decisions and determinations sent to unaccompanied minors. Amendment No. 116 deletes the current section 47 and replaces it with a clarified text that more effectively describes the functions of provisional representatives and representatives. The text now emphasises the central function of the representative in safeguarding the best interests and well-being of unaccompanied minors, as well as setting out the caseload, independence and training requirements to be applied. Amendments Nos. 118 to 128, inclusive, concern section 48 and the cessation of the representative's role. I propose that the text of section 48(1) should be revised to clarify the circumstances in which a representative's role ceases. Amendment No. 124 introduces a new subsection, which provides for the cessation of the appointment of a representative organisation. Amendments Nos. 125 to 128, inclusive, then provide for the interaction between the cessation of a representative person and a representative organisation. Amendment No. 129 is a technical amendment related to the changes made as part of amendment No. 16. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-03-19/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:45+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-03-19