Juvenile Offenders.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 December 2004

Thursday, 16 December 2004

Questions (170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175)

Jim O'Keeffe

Question:

170 Mr. J. O’Keeffe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of facilities in the State at which juvenile offenders are detained; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33901/04]

Jim O'Keeffe

Question:

171 Mr. J. O’Keeffe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of places available in facilities in the State at which juvenile offenders are detained; the number of these places which are filled as at 10 December 2004; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33902/04]

Jim O'Keeffe

Question:

172 Mr. J. O’Keeffe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the details of the ownership of facilities in the State at which juvenile offenders are detained; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33903/04]

Jim O'Keeffe

Question:

173 Mr. J. O’Keeffe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the steps which are taken when the detention of a juvenile is ordered in circumstances in which no suitable place is available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33904/04]

Jim O'Keeffe

Question:

174 Mr. J. O’Keeffe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will report on the emphasis which is placed on rehabilitation in facilities in the State at which juvenile offenders are detained; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33905/04]

Jim O'Keeffe

Question:

175 Mr. J. O’Keeffe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his plans to expand existing facilities in the State at which juvenile offenders are detained or to construct or commission further such facilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33906/04]

Written answers

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. McDowell)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 170 to 175, inclusive, together.

Responsibility for the provision of spaces for young offenders under the age of 16 years lies with my colleague, the Minister for Education and Science. I have responsibility for the provision of spaces for persons over 16 years of age. For the purpose of these questions, a juvenile is assumed to be a person under 18 years of age.

No places are reserved solely for juveniles in the prison system. In practice, the majority of juveniles committed to custody are detained in St. Patrick's Institution, which is a closed institution reserved in law exclusively for offenders aged 16 to 21 years. St. Patrick's Institution has a capacity for 220 prisoners. In addition, each of the prisons in the State can accommodate persons aged 17 years and over. With these provisions in mind, the location of juveniles in custody on 10 December 2004 is set out in the following table.

Prison	Sentenced	On Remand	For Trial	Trial & Remand	Total
Cloverhill	2	1	0	1	4
Cork	2	1	0	0	3
Limerick — Male	3	1	0	0	4
Limerick — Female	0	1	0	0	1
Midlands	1	0	0	0	1
Mountjoy — Female	3	0	0	0	3
St. Patrick’s Institution	49	12	3	1	65
Wheatfield	1	0	0	0	1
Total	61	16	3	2	82

Every effort is made to separate juvenile offenders from the general prison population in each institution. The majority of male juvenile offenders are held in St. Patrick's Institution. For example, on 10 December 2004, there were 78 male persons under the age of 18 in custody, 65 of whom were detained in St. Patrick's Institution. The few held in the more traditional adult prisons are accommodated with other young offenders or with other carefully selected prisoners.

Offenders under the age of 15 years cannot be committed to a prison under any circumstances. Fifteen year old male offenders and 15 and 16 year old female offenders can be committed to prison only in exceptional circumstances. This can occur only in cases where the court certifies under the provisions of sections 97 and 102 of the Children Act 1908, that the young person is so unruly or depraved of character that he or she cannot be detained in a place of detention provided under Part V of the Act.

All institutions in the prison service are the property of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. The prison service will accommodate any juvenile that is lawfully committed from the courts. There are no circumstances where the prison service will refuse to accommodate a juvenile that is lawfully committed to its custody.

With regard to rehabilitation of juvenile offenders, within the prison system, facilities and programmes for young offenders are centred mainly at St. Patrick's Institution. The diverse range of services provided include individual and group programmes on offending issues; education, vocational training and life skills programmes; drug treatment and drug awareness programmes. A designated drug-free wing has been in operation in St. Patrick's Institution since November 2000. This wing allows prisoners who do not have a background of drug abuse and those who have demonstrated the desire to stop taking drugs to be detained in a drug-free and secure environment. One-to-one interventions exist and support including general medical, dental, psychiatric, psychological, spiritual and welfare supports, and involvement of community-based voluntary organisations in providing positive programmes and supports for young people in custody.

St. Patrick's Institution has, over the past four years, introduced important new programmes for the rehabilitation of offenders including a positive sentence management programme. Resources permitting, it is planned in 2005 to bring a mixture of new and renovated accommodation into use at the institution, through the utilisation of the newly revamped B wing, which will allow for a total of 44 16 and 17 year olds to be accommodated separately from older prisoners.

The Children Act 2001 introduces a wide range of innovative measures that will provide a statutory framework for the future development of the juvenile justice system in accordance with modern thinking and best international practice. It is the underlying concept of the Children Act to expand the options a court will have at its disposal when deciding on how to deal with a young offender. These options are an essential feature of the Act as they will allow effect to be given to the principle that detention for young offenders will be a last resort. The Act envisages committals to custody of young offenders being availed of only in situations when other alternative diversions and community-based options have been resorted to and have failed. The Act is being implemented on a phased basis.

Under the provisions of the Children's Act 2001, which is being implemented on a phased basis, over a number of years, separate secure detention centres will be required for the accommodation of 16 and 17 year old offenders. The Irish Prison Service is actively pursuing the provision of new facilities to be used as children detention centres. These centres will operate under their own unique regime which will cater specifically for the needs of juvenile offenders. In the Dublin area, it is hoped to provide a new children detention centre as part of the planned new prison complex to replace the institutions on the Mountjoy site, including St. Patrick's Institution. Once a suitable site is acquired, planning and construction will proceed with the intention of having the new facilities available in the shortest possible time. As regards facilities outside Dublin, the new prison complex to replace Cork Prison will also include a stand-alone children detention centre to accommodate 16 to 17 year olds, male and female. A statutory order for the commencement of the relevant provisions of the Children Act will be made when both of these new facilities become available.