Thank you, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle, for permitting me to raise the decision by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to close Shanganagh Castle open centre for young male offenders aged between 16 and 21 years. The facility is located in my constituency. I am disappointed the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform is not here in person to respond to the matter raised on the Adjournment. The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform appears to be spending more time doing the job of other Ministers than applying himself to his own brief.
His decision to close Shanganagh Castle is one of the most short-sighted to have been made in a long time and shows very little understanding by him of the need for rehabilitation of young offenders. The Minister is justifying this decision – the Taoiseach justified it on the same grounds – by reference to the low number of inmates who are accommodated at Shanganagh Castle and the relatively high cost of the accommodation. It currently houses 16 inmates even though it has a capacity of 60. The reason for the low numbers is very simple, it has been deliberately run down. I challenge the Minister on his decision.
There are 400 young male offenders aged between 16 and 21 who are now accommodated mainly in closed centres in the prison system. I do not accept that there is not at least 10% of these who would be suitable for accommodation in Shanganagh Castle. That is what we are talking about in order to maintain this facility at full capacity. Indeed, nine of the young offenders are already in an open facility for adults in Shelton Abbey. I do not see why, if an open facility for adults is suitable for young offenders, the actual facility for young offenders ought not to be available to them.
In response to a Dáil question last week, the Minister stated that the average cost of a young offender in Shanganagh Castle is €127,000 while the average cost in the rest of the prison system is €79,000. It is, of course, going to be more expensive if the numbers are kept at a third of the capacity of the facility. If it is allowed to operate to its full capacity then the numbers are turned around. In fact, on a financial basis it becomes a much more cost effective method of detaining and rehabilitating young offenders, and that is not taking into account the value one places on rehabilitation which appears to have a very low priority in the Minister's consideration of this issue.
Since the Minister is interested in making comparisons, let me offer him some others. Since this facility was opened in 1969, no young offender has committed suicide nor has there been a case of serious self-mutilation. No other facility in the rest of the penal system can claim such a record. I also ask the Minister to compare the success rate of this facility in regard to rehabilitation. I would like him to compare the number of repeat offenders in Shanganagh Castle with any of the other penal institutions in the country. He will find that, by and large, those who have come through Shanganagh Castle have not re-offended. That claim cannot be made for any other facility. Let us also compare it in terms of local community support. If one was to try and open such a centre, it would, most likely, meet with resistance from the local community. Yet, here is a facility which enjoys local community support. A further point in support of Shanganagh Castle is that the excellent education facilities provided by the County Dublin VEC are not provided elsewhere in the prison system.
I advise any Fianna Fáil land speculator who may be eyeing up this land for purchase to stay away from it. This facility constitutes part of the green belt between Shankill and Bray. A big financial killing will not be made on the sale of the 24 acres of land on which this facility is located, even if it is sold, because there would be enormous local resistance to these lands being developed for any other purpose.
