AN ORGANISATION combating child begging says it has recorded an increase in members of the Roma community begging on the streets.
“Yes, the ISPCC Leanbh service has noticed an increase in the incidence of Roma adults and children begging, and our statistics for January–April 2007 reflect this,” Adriana Fechete told Metro Eireann.
The statistics for 2007 will only be publicly released in December, added a spokesperson for the ISPCC (Irish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children).
According to Fechete, who is a Romanian-speaker and child support worker with the Leanbh service: “The vast majority of Roma families [mostly from Romania] were not aware that they would not be able to access work in Ireland [following restrictions when Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU last January].
Furthermore, they were not aware that they would have no access or entitlements to any form of social welfare payments. Children who beg or are forced to beg with parents – sometimes from early infancy – represent a clear-cut child protection issue. The likelihood of such children becoming criminalised, engaging in petty crime and ending up in trouble with the law is very high.Children who beg are at greater risk of abusing alcohol or drugs and of being sexually exploited.”
Asked why Roma children are increasingly engaged in such behaviour, she said: “Many Roma families do not have the funds for day-by-day living expenses and many Roma adults reported to us they are not getting any money if they beg themselves.
“There is only a minority within the Roma community who beg and many within the community have strong attitudes against begging.”
The Department of Justice offers paid return flights for EU citizens who find themselves destitute, but Fechete said that “the majority of the Roma community do not have knowledge of this availability. In fact, the ISPCC itself has only very recently learnt of this availability.”
According to Fechete, begging puts children especially in danger. “We are aware of incidents that have occurred but we are not fully aware of the full extent of these incidents,” she said. “Begging places children at serious risk and is a clear-cut child protection and welfare concern. There is always a risk of being attacked or injured as a result of begging.”
The ISPCC Leanbh project was set up in 1997 in order to address the increasing incidence of child begging. It is a Dublin-based service staffed by a multi-ethnic team of ISPCC professionals and trained volunteers, who work on a seven-day, 24-hour basis to identify children who beg.
According to the ISPCC: “These children, like all children, have a right to education, to be loved, valued and protected. The service works primarily with children from the Roma and Travelling Community. Leanbh assesses and responds to child protection risks and the overall aim is to reduce/eliminate the number of children, young people and adults with babies who are begging on the streets or door to door.
“The ISPCC appreciates the dilemma members of the public face when they encounter a child begging. If you see a child begging, please do not give them money as this does not address the root causes or the long-term effects on the child. Treat the child with kindness and respect and offer them food or a hot drink. If you are worried about a child begging, contact the ISPCC Leanbh service on 01 6447712, the local Garda station or the Health Service Executive.”
The law preventing begging was struck down by the High Court in March, having been found unconstitutional.
