Health board authorities have reported some 10 cases to garda∅ that could be linked to child trafficking in the State. The Garda National Immigration Bureau is investigating a "number of situations" where officials did not believe that the relatives were "the true guardians" of the children. Bureau officials are seeking DNA corroboration in some cases as a "massive" increase is reported in the number of unaccompanied minors seeking asylum in the State.
The news emerged as an investigation by BBC Radio 4's Today programme yesterday found that hundreds of children from West African countries such as the Ivory Coast and Nigeria were being held in Britain by human trafficking gangs in lieu of debts incurred by their parents to send them to Europe.
In many cases, the children were living in squalid conditions working as domestic servants while people acting for the traffickers claimed up to £40 sterling per week for each child in child benefit. One alleged case involved 12 children.
The investigation discovered that a boy originally being held by traffickers in Britain was missing. The BBC team later identified the boy at the Mosney asylum centre near Drogheda, Co Louth, with a woman claiming to be from Nigeria. It is understood the woman was in fact from Sierra Leone.
However, neither the Immigration Bureau, local garda∅ nor Mosney authorities were aware of the case.
The Northern Area Health Board, which has responsibility for Mosney, was also unaware of it. It has reported 43 suspected asylum fraud cases to the garda∅ but none of those relates to children or child trafficking, according to a spokeswoman.
The East Coast Area Health Board has, however, reported up to 10 cases in the past two years to garda∅ where social workers had suspicions, when relatives subsequently appeared to claim unaccompanied children arriving in the State. Up to 1,500 unaccompanied minors have arrived in the State in the past two years.
A file has been sent to the DPP about a case in March when a man was arrested by garda∅ on suspicion of trafficking, when he was found with 64 genuine birth certificates from Nigeria, which were not filled in.
However, there are no asylum cases where either child sexual exploitation or child labour is alleged.
The BBC investigation was prompted by the case of eight-year-old Victoria Climbie, originally from Ivory Coast, who was beaten, starved and tortured to death by her great-aunt, Marie Therese Kouao, and Kouao's boyfriend, Carl Manning, who were convicted of murder.
It is customary in the Ivory Coast for families to send their children to Europe with better off relatives to gain a better education and Victoria travelled to Britain with her family's blessing.
The extent of child trafficking in Britain is unknown but it is estimated that there are up to one million illegal immigrants in Britain and there is anecdotal evidence from immigrant groups that many are sold into prostitution or become the victims of extortion to pay back the traffickers' fee.
The National Crime Squad in Britain said it was a "reasonable conclusion" that the trade in child trafficking was carried out in such a covert way that it was not being fully detected by the authorities.
The National Crime Squad is due to launch an Immigration Crime Team in January, which will target child slavery and trafficking as part of its investigations into organised crime.
A spokesman for the squad said there was "anecdotal" evidence of child trafficking and child slavery which suggested the trade was "sporadic."