International Protection Bill 2026: Report and Final Stages
Seanad Éireann — 2026-03-25
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Jim O'Callaghan (FF), Dublin Bay South

Amendment No. 1 is a technical amendment to add the phrase "the Child Care Act 1991" to the Title to the Bill. It arises on foot of the proposed amendment No. 274.
Amendment No. 2 amends the Long Title to the Bill to reflect the amendment of the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 and the Children First Act 2015 in amendments Nos. 278 and 279, respectively.
Amendment No. 274 inserts the presumption of minority for unaccompanied minors into the Child Care Act 1991. This amendment provides that subject to the age assessment process, where notification is made to the competent authority for the appointment of representatives for unaccompanied minors, an applicant for international protection may be an unaccompanied minor, that applicant shall be presumed to be a minor for the purposes of the Child Care Act 1991.
The purpose of amendment No. 275 is to clarify that the term "non-national" for the purposes of sections 8(1) and 8(2) of the Immigration Act 2003 includes applicants within the meaning of the Bill and the International Protection Act 2015. Currently, these sections explicitly refer to applicants within the meaning of the Refugee Act 1996 only. Section 8(1) applies to the sharing of information regarding non-nationals between certain public bodies, referred to as information holders for the purposes of this section. Section 8(2) gives the Minister for Social Protection a power to request information regarding non-nationals from information holders.
The purpose of amendment No. 276 is to amend section 3 of the Immigration Act 2004. This matter was discussed on Committee Stage and I agreed to examine it for Report Stage. The effect of the amendment would be to require an immigration officer performing functions under this Bill to produce his or her warrant of appointment, or a copy of it, if requested by a person affected. That amendment was proposed was proposed by Senators Ruane and Higgins. I have acceded to and included it.
Amendment No. 278 amends Schedule 1 of the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012. Amendment No. 279 amends Schedules 1 and 2 of the Children First Act 2015.
Together, amendments Nos. 278 and 279 provide for safeguarding and vetting where work or activity includes children or vulnerable people in accommodation centres and during the provision of representative and guardian services. The amendments also provide for accommodation centre managers, provisional representatives, representatives and international protection guardians to be mandated reporters.

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Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:46+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-25