Context
Young people arriving in Ireland without documentation often have their ages disputed. If treated as adults, they can be denied the protections and care to which children are entitled.
Intervention
The Law Centre assists age-disputed minors by:
- Helping them document their life history and gather supporting evidence.
- Attending age assessments with them.
- Making legal submissions on their behalf during the process.
Outcome
Over the past five years, more than 20 of our clients have been formally recognised as children and taken into care, receiving appropriate housing, welfare, and educational support.
Impact
Our ongoing work has highlighted systemic issues in age assessment procedures and informed our policy submissions, contributing to calls for a fairer, child-sensitive process nationwide.