Almost 300 asylum seekers claiming to be children in last four years were found to be adults

ALMOST 300 ASYLUM seekers who claimed to be children were subsequently found to be adults in the last four years, according to Tusla. 

The figures were provided by the Child and Family Agency in a report to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). 

Between 2022 and 2025, there were over 2,500 referrals to Tusla from immigration officials who believed that the person was under 18 years of age and unaccompanied.

Of those, some 293 were subsequently “deemed ineligible” for Tusla and referred back to the International Protection Office (IPO).

“The issue of age assessment in relation to unaccompanied minors has been an issue of significant risk to Tusla in recent years,” the agency said. “There is no provision in law for Tusla to conduct age assessments.”

Under the International Protection Act 2015, it must appear to an immigration official that a young person they are interviewing is a minor under 18 and unaccompanied for them to refer to Tusla for service. 

Once a young person is referred to Tusla, the “presumption of minority” must apply. This means the person must be accommodated by Tusla in a registered children’s centre or
approved fostering placement until they have been determined not to be eligible.

Tusla said it is “particularly challenging to rebut the claim of being a minor particularly when adhering to best practice guidance of fair procedures, benefit of the doubt and the legal premise of presumption of minority.”

The agency said last year saw “one of the highest numbers of arrivals in the history of the service”, which led to “significant delays” in completing assessments.

As a result, the average duration between receiving a referral for an unaccompanied minor and that person subsequently being found to be an adult was 57 days.

This has now reduced to around 15 working days, with Tusla adding that IPO has been conducting “more robust screening” since January for age and referral rates have dropped. 

There were 97 referrals to Tusla in the first quarter of this year, compared to 196 in the last three months of 2025. 

In a letter to the PAC, the Department of Justice said that in the first three months of 2026, some 665 people were referred by the IPO to Tusla.

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Of these, 581 people subsequently made applications in the IPO, with 400 applying as minors and 181 applying as adults.

Five people applied as adults and were subsequently determined to be children.

Unregulated accommodation

Tusla said where there was a query about a young person’s age or an appeal of the decision of the IPO or Tusla, they were categorised as “age disputed” and accommodated in an emergency placement or an Ipas placement, and not in a registered children’s centre “pending final determination”.

The briefing note also states that in some cases, where a shortfall in capacity means a regulated emergency placement or a foster care/residential care placement is not available, a “Special Emergency Arrangement” is required to ensure an immediate place of safety for a young person.

These are emergency measures for young people who need immediate safety when no registered placement is available. Tusla said the need for SEAs to accommodate unaccompanied minors is “driven primarily by the number of arrivals”.

“It is important to note that many unaccompanied minors reside in a SEA for a very short period of time, as an immediate place of safety, before moving on to a registered centre.

“Every effort is made to ensure that children under 16 years of age are placed in registered centres only, and if a placement is not available initially, they are prioritised to move to a registered centre as soon as possible.”

As of 19 April 2026, there were 71 young people in SEAs. Of those, three were unaccompanied minors referred to Tusla by IPO. 

Tusla said it is “absolutely committed” to reducing the number of young people in SEAs. 

“However, we have publicly communicated our concerns about the challenges we are working to overcome in relation to placement capacity for a small but very vulnerable group of young people that we are supporting, particularly in relation to emergency care capacity, placement capacity for young people with more complex needs, and special care capacity.”

Speaking to RTÉ’s Today with David McCullagh programme this morning, Children’s Rights Alliance CEO Tanya Ward said Tusla “has to be very careful” when it’s deciding whether a child or an adult is eligible for services.

“They have to really be careful that they don’t send a young person into the direct provision system that is under the age of 18,” she said. 

Ward said some people who are aged 18 or 19 might present as children “for good reason”, adding: “It could be because they’re afraid to be in the direct provision system, they’re afraid not to be offered any accommodation.

“The possibility of having a care worker looking after you is something that anyone I think would want if they’re a vulnerable 18-year-old.”

She also said organisations working with children and young people in the direct provision system had come across minors that were incorrectly deemed to be adults. “They were there without their parents and that in itself is a safeguarding risk.”

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