asked the Minister for Education if she will make a statement regarding Ard Scoil Mhuire, Lusk, County Dublin, and the reasons for the proposed closure of this special school; and if the reason for the closure is in any way connected with industrial problems or conditions of work at this school.
Written Answers. - Lusk (Dublin) School.
598.
Scoil Ard Mhuire, Oberstown, Lusk, County Dublin is a certified reformatory school for boys and, together with Trinity House School, Oberstown, forms the Oberstown youth centre. Scoil Ard Mhuire is an `open' special school and boys are referred there by the courts and by the health boards.
The decision to close Scoil Ard Mhuire was taken as a matter of policy for the following reasons:—
1. Though able to accommodate 60 boys Scoil Ard Mhuire has seldom if even had more than 45 boys on its books at any one time. Indeed in recent years this figure has dropped to 30 boys and below.
2. The level of referrals to Scoil Ard Mhuire has dropped substantially in recent years. It is now clear that there is more than enough accommodation available in the other `open' special schools to cater for all referrals from the courts to `open' residential settings.
3. There is a strong trend, not only in Ireland but elsewhere, against the treatment of comparatively minor young offenders in centralised, `open' institutions. The thrust now is towards small, community-based interventions.