Nearly 300 adults referred to Tusla were not in fact children, the child and family agency has confirmed.
The revelation was made in a report submitted by the organisation to the Public Accounts Committee on the issue of child accommodation.
The report also noted there is currently “no provision in law for Tusla to conduct age assessments”.
On The Claire Byrne Show, Irish Times journalist Kitty Holland noted this places Tusla in a “legal quandary” when child referrals look older than 17.
“Under the International Protection Act, which is a 2015 piece of legislation, if a person comes into a port of entry and says they're a child or the immigration official believes that they probably are a child and that they're unaccompanied, they must refer them on to Tusla,” she explained.
“Under that legislation, Tusla must give them the benefit of the doubt that they are a child and they must accommodate them.”
A sign for Tusla.From 2022 until 2025, Tusla received 2,530 referrals where an unaccompanied asylum applicant claimed they were a child or were judged by officials to be one.
Of that number, 293 were later found to be adults.
“[Tusla] say that this is an issue of significant risk for them,” Ms Holland continued.
“I'm sure they're worried that there could potentially be cases coming their way, there are risks both to inadvertently placing an adult in with children.
“But also then, there's a risk if you put a child in inadvertently, not believing that they're a child, with adults.
“So, there's risk all over this.”
Such is the shortage of accommodation for asylum seekers that some children are placed in special emergency arrangements, where they are not supervised by properly qualified staff.
It is, Ms Holland added, something that is “fraught with potential risk”.
“We saw what happened with the killing of Vadym Davydenko, in a special emergency arrangement, which was housing unaccompanied minors,” she said.
“So, they're potentially very volatile places.”
In a statement, Tusla said it is "committed to responding to and supporting unaccompanied minors".
It also noted that from June, responsibility for full age assessments will be handed over to the International Protection Office.
Main image: Asylum seekers queueing outside the IPO's office on Mount Street in Dublin. Picture by: Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews.
