International Protection Bill 2026: Report and Final Stages
Seanad Éireann — 2026-03-25
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Nessa Cosgrove (LAB), Labour Panel

I also wish to speak to this amendment No. 272. As a member of the children's committee, it is very stark to get such concern raised by the Ombudsman for Children, Dr. Niall Muldoon. He has been before the children's committee on a number of occasions, including with staff from his office. We know from reports already that children in asylum seeking and direct provision are probably among the most vulnerable children in the State. They are raising the alarm and saying the Bill has been rushed through the Dáil and that this is our last opportunity in the Seanad to bring this forward before it is guillotined. This office was set up as an independent office to promote and protect the rights of children and young people under 18. That has to count for something.
No one disagrees with the notion that we would have an effective asylum system. No one disputes that. What about the White Paper on ending direct provision? What we were aiming to do was to get rid of direct provision. Unfortunately, given that this Bill is being rushed in, there is a chance that we are going to see more restrictions being made and even more children being at risk of being detained against their will. It is highly concerning that the State is already not able to manage how it deals with unaccompanied minors who present. How are we going to deal with them if they have additional vulnerabilities? We do not know.
We have signed up to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Bill needs to be debated further. We do not want to go back in our history. There already have been reports. The Ombudsman for Children commissioned a report on direct provision. It spoke about the lack of space and privacy already for children in direct provision and the fact that they did not feel safe here in the country to which they came to asylum and safety. The Ombudsman for Children produced a report stating that this was crisis driven and is threatening the safety and well-being of children. To me, the proposed changes that focus on rapid returns and a new border procedure will mean that children, in particular unaccompanied minors, could be more vulnerable than ever to having their rights breached. I hope the Minister will consider accepting this amendment.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-03-25/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:46+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-25