Nearly 300 asylum seekers who claimed to be children were later found to be adults over the past four years, according to figures provided by the child and family agency Tusla to the Dáil Public Accounts Committee.
The agency revealed that, on average, these individuals were treated as minors for 57 days before being assessed as adults. During this period, some may have been accommodated in facilities intended for children. Tusla said, however, that the timeframe for completing these assessments has improved significantly in recent months.
In a report submitted to the committee on April 27th, Tusla described the issue of age assessment for unaccompanied minors seeking asylum as a major challenge and a significant operational risk in recent years. The agency noted that there is currently no legal provision granting it formal authority to conduct age assessments.
Between 2022 and 2025, a total of 2,530 young asylum seekers who arrived in Ireland without a parent or guardian were referred to Tusla. These referrals occurred either because immigration authorities believed the individuals were under 18 or because the asylum seekers themselves claimed to be minors.
Of those referred, 293 were later determined to be adults and therefore deemed ineligible for Tusla’s child protection and care services. These individuals were subsequently referred back to the International Protection Office.
Under the International Protection Act 2015, immigration officials who believe an asylum seeker is under 18 are required to refer them to Tusla. The law states that the individual should then be presumed to be a child and given access to the agency’s protection and support services until a determination is made.
Tusla explained that, until recently, it often took close to two months to complete assessments and conclude that an individual was not eligible for children’s services because they were an adult. However, since January 2026, the International Protection Office, which operates under the Department of Justice, has introduced stricter age-screening procedures at the point of entry.
According to Tusla, these enhanced checks have reduced the number of referrals requiring assessment and shortened the average determination period to approximately 15 days. The agency said that in the first quarter of 2026 it received 97 referrals, a significant decrease from the 196 referrals recorded during the final three months of 2025.
Tusla linked this reduction to preparations for the implementation of the EU Migration Pact, which is due to come into effect in June 2026.
Where there is uncertainty surrounding a person’s age, or where a decision is being appealed, individuals are categorised as “age disputed”. In such cases, Tusla said they are placed either in emergency accommodation or in adult International Protection Accommodation Services facilities while awaiting a final decision, rather than being housed in registered children’s centres.
The agency also disclosed that last year it received 768 referrals from immigration officials. Of the 288 cases that underwent detailed eligibility assessments, 141 individuals were ultimately found to be adults.
Tusla said determining age can be extremely difficult because authorities must follow principles of fairness, give the benefit of the doubt where appropriate, and apply the legal presumption that a person claiming to be a child should initially be treated as one.
The report also highlighted concerns around the use of special emergency arrangements, or SEAs, which are unregistered and unregulated accommodation settings used for some unaccompanied minors. These placements have previously faced criticism from the Ombudsman for Children and members of the judiciary, who argued they are unsuitable for vulnerable young people.
Tusla defended the use of SEAs, saying they were mainly required due to the high number of arrivals and that many children stayed in such accommodation only briefly before moving to registered care centres.
