The task of deciding whether an asylum seeker claiming to be a child is, in fact, an adult will be removed from Tusla.
People presenting as unaccompanied children to make asylum applications will be appointed their own advocate before undergoing rigorous age assessments by immigration officials, under new processes to come into effect next month.
Only when the International Protection Office (IPO), which is managed by the Department of Justice, “is satisfied that the individual is under 18” will they be referred to Tusla.
The new process, to start on June 12th as part of the implementation of the EU Migration and Asylum Pact, will mark a significant shift from current arrangements.
At present, where an asylum seeker claims to be under 18 and alone, or where an immigration official believes they are an unaccompanied minor, they are automatically referred to the child and family agency.
Since 2015, Tusla has conducted “eligibility assessments” for its services on these asylum seekers – in effect, age assessments.
Between 2022 and 2025, nearly 300 young asylum seekers who claimed to be children were subsequently found to be adults, the agency told the Committee of Public Accounts in a briefing document.
The average time these adults were incorrectly presumed to be children and potentially accommodated with other children was 57 days. This time frame has reduced considerably since January, however, as the new process, overseen by the IPO, is phased in.
A Department of Justice spokesman said its IPO officials would “complete an age assessment on applicants claiming to be an unaccompanied minor” from next month.
“The assessment will be multidisciplinary … This process is currently being designed and Tusla are represented on the working group carrying out this design work”, he said.
Anyone presenting as an unaccompanied child asylum seeker “will be assigned a representative who will assist them throughout screening, including, where applicable, the age assessment process.
“The role of such a representative will also be to assist and guide the individual through the international protection application process … to assist with the lodging of the application for international protection and the personal interview.”
Where the results of the assessment are inconclusive, the applicant is given the benefit of the doubt and referred to Tusla, said the spokesman.
As happens now, if Tusla then finds the applicant is in fact over 18, they will be returned to apply for asylum as an adult.
At the committee on Thursday, members voiced strong concern that 293 asylum seekers who had claimed to be children were subsequently found to be aged 18 or older, between 2022 and 2025.
Chairman John Brady (Sinn Féin) said he had questions about the constitutionality of Tusla conducting age assessments on asylum seekers when, under the International Protection Act 2015, it had no legal basis to.
Fine Gael TD Joe Neville said it was a disgrace that some people had pretended to be children, “gaming the system” where they believed there may be a weakness enabling them to receive more rights or entitlements than if they presented as adults.
His primary concern was the risk this presented to other children in the asylum system.
“If anyone is found doing that they should be the first people out the door … We have seen what damage has happened in the past. There should be no truck for anyone.”
Fine Gael TD James Geoghegan said: “There must be accountability for the decision to outsource this function to Tusla in recent years, especially as the number of unaccompanied minors seeking protection has increased.
“The consequences of that decision have been profound, and they should never have fallen on Tusla.”