Tusla to Cease Asylum Seeker Age Assessments from June 12th
Tusla will stop age assessments for asylum seekers claiming to be children from June 12th, transferring the role to the International Protection Office. This change follows 293 cases between 2022-2025 where adults were wrongly identified as children, raising safety and constitutional concerns.
Tusla will no longer conduct age assessments for asylum seekers claiming to be children, effective June 12th. This new process, part of the EU Migration and Asylum Pact implementation, transfers the responsibility to the International Protection Office (IPO) under the Department of Justice.
Under the new system, individuals presenting as unaccompanied children for asylum applications will first be assigned an advocate. IPO officials will then perform multidisciplinary age assessments. Only if the IPO is satisfied the individual is under 18 will they be referred to Tusla. If assessments are inconclusive, applicants receive the benefit of the doubt and are referred to Tusla. If Tusla later finds them to be over 18, they will be returned to apply for asylum as adults.
Between 2022 and 2025, 293 asylum seekers who claimed to be children were found to be adults. These individuals were incorrectly presumed to be children for an average of 57 days. Committee members, including Chairman John Brady (Sinn Féin) and TDs Joe Neville and James Geoghegan (Fine Gael), expressed strong concerns about the past practice and the risks posed to other children.