TUSLA has launched a new campaign seeking foster families for asylum-seeking children.
The Child and Family agency aims to recruit carers for unaccompanied children who arrive in Ireland and seek refugee status.
The Tusla Separated Children Seeking International Protection campaign, which is the first of its kind, launched today and will run until September 12th.
The agency is looking to create a selection of carers from different cultural, religious, social and linguistic backgrounds to reflect the diversity of unaccompanied minors coming into State care.
Speaking at the launch, Minister for Children, Roderic O’Gorman said: “Irish carers can play an extremely important role in providing a home to refugee children coming to Ireland who have been separated from their parents and families.
“Ireland acts as a safe haven for these most vulnerable of people, and that refuge is first and foremost built around a caring and supportive home environment.
PLACE OF SAFETY
“These children need a welcoming place of safety and protection, and so we are asking people to consider becoming carers.
“I fully support Tusla in this campaign to attract carers from a variety of backgrounds who can meet the needs of these children.”
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It comes as an existing Irish commitment in December 2018 to accept 36 unaccompanied minors from Greece as part of European Union relief efforts comes to an end.
Eight children arrived here in June 2020, and another 13 were brought to Ireland in July 2021.
Tusla is in the process of receiving another 15 children who will be arriving in the coming weeks.
The kids are between 10 and 17, and of the 36 who will have arrived from Greece, 17 are from Afghanistan, eight are Syrian, and the remainder are from Eritrea, Iran and Pakistan.
APPLICATION PROCESS
Other children also appear at Irish borders alone, and are not part of any international refugee programme.
From 2016 to 2020, 438 unaccompanied minors came into the care of Tusla.
Tusla requires any additional carers to be be vetted and assessed in the same way as new foster parents and will receive the same rates of pay.
Members of the public enquiring about caring for a child seeking international protection here can visit fostering.ie, call freephone 1800 226 771 or email tusla.fostering@tusla.ie for more details.
