OIREACHTAS COMMITTEE:CHILDREN WHO arrive in the Republic without their parents to claim asylum are being forcibly removed from schools in Dublin when they turn 18 even if they haven't completed their exams, it was claimed yesterday.

Labour TD Ruairí Quinn told the Oireachtas education committee that the Department of Justice was treating these children like “cattle” and called on the department to ensure they could complete their schooling.

Fine Gael TD Brian Hayes said he had been briefed on six cases where pupils had been removed from schools in Dublin when they turned 18 to be sent to refugee centres in the country.

He said the practice seemed to have been introduced in the past year and resulted in the students not being able to get a place in a new school near their accommodation because they were considered too old. Michael Kilbride, principal of O'Connell's secondary school in Dublin, told The Irish Timesthat five children were removed from his school last year and two more this year under the dispersal policy.

“This is very disturbing for children who are in the middle of their studies and have got used to a teacher and then they are sent down the country and often can’t find a new school,” he said.

“I’ve been contacted by three lads sent to Limerick last year that couldn’t get a place in schools because they were too old. If these guys get asylum surely it’s better that they have their Leaving Certificate and integrate and contribute to society,” said Mr Kilbride, who called on the Government to change this policy of dispersal.

In a statement, the department said 59 “aged-out minors” were considered for transfer from Health Service Executive (HSE) accommodation to refugee accommodation in 2009. It said some were allowed to stay in HSE accommodation and it was not the general policy of the HSE to disperse “aged-out minors” in the middle of an academic year when it was established they were engaged in academic work.

The Irish Refugee Council, an NGO which campaigns for refugee rights in the Republic, said it was disturbed to learn two or three young people were moved outside Dublin during their transition year in January. “To move a young person at such a crucial time in their education is extremely disruptive and should not even be considered unless there is absolutely no other alternative,” it said.

Department of Education officials told the Oireachtas committee that responsibility for these unaccompanied minors lay with the Department of Justice.

The officials also confirmed the number of teachers working in schools to help migrants integrate into classes had fallen to 1,500, compared to 2,100 in 2008.