Nearly 300 adult asylum seekers claimed to be children, Oireachtas committee told
Nearly 300 asylum seekers who claimed they were children were subsequently deemed to be adults over the past four years, Tusla has said.
The child and family agency said in a report to the Dáil Public Accounts Committee that the average time the adults were incorrectly presumed to be children, and possibly lived in children's accommodation, was 57 days, The Irish Times reported.
It said, however, that the timescale has reduced considerably since January.
The agency said that "the issue of age assessment in relation to unaccompanied minors has been an issue of significant risk to Tusla in recent years," in the briefing document.
Between 2022 and 2025, a total of 2,530 young people who were alone and seeking asylum were referred to the agency in cases where either immigration officials believed they were under 18 and unaccompanied, or the individuals claimed to be, The Irish Times report said.
Of these, 293 were subsequently “deemed ineligible” for Tusla’s services “and referred back to the International Protection Office (IPO)”.
The 2015 International Protection Act says that where an immigration official forms a view an asylum seeker is under 18 years, they shall refer them to Tusla.
That young person shall be presumed to be a child and shall access Tusla’s protective services, the legislation says.
Tusla said it had been taking close to two months from the time it received a referral of an individual appearing or claiming to be an unaccompanied minor, and completing an assessment determining them not to be eligible for services, “and therefore an adult”.
Since January of this year, however, the IPO, which is run by the Department of Justice, has conducted more robust age screenings, it said.
As a result, such referrals to Tusla had dropped, and fewer eligibility assessments were required, leading to a shorter timescale of around 15 days for completed age determinations.
“In quarter one 2026, we have experienced a reduction in the number of young people referred to the service, with 97 referrals.”
This compares with 196 referrals in the last three months of 2025.
Tusla said where there was a query about the 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 adult Ipas placement, and not in a registered children’s centre “pending a final determination”.
