Garda figures show that 18 people went missing in Ireland during 2005. The majority of these are foreign nationals aged 18 or under.
Children's rights groups are concerned that some of these could be the victims of child traffickers. 16 of the 18 people who disappeared last year were foreign nationals while 12 of them were aged 18 or under.
Of the 16 people who went missing in 2004, 12 were foreign nationals and 11 were aged 18 or under.
Figures from the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner show that, between January 1998 and March 2003, approximately 160 children did not appear for their first instance asylum interview and were deemed to have withdrawn from the asylum process.
Among the possibilities suggested was that children were being put into domestic labour, criminal activity or trafficked into the sex industry.
A report by the Combating Paedophile Networks in Europe project in Cork said weaknesses in Irish legislation made it difficult for immigration officers to prove that trafficking takes place.
