Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 October 2007
97 Deputy Alan Shatter asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the consideration given to date to the provision of a new industrial school near Lusk; if a report on what is proposed will be published in advance of a final decision being made; and the effect of the proposal on existing residential institutions for children. [22835/07]
View answerI thank Deputy Shatter for tabling this question because it allows me to outline the correct position. The Government is committed in the programme for Government to invest in the provision of appropriate detention facilities for young offenders. I take the opportunity to clarify that the Government's plans to develop new children detention school facilities do not amount to the development of prisons, and it is misleading to label them as such as some newspapers have done in the past week. The industrial school concept, referred to by the Deputy in his question, has been abolished since the commencement of the relevant sections of the Children Act 2001 earlier this year and the facilities which will be developed will follow the children detention schools model, precisely the model envisaged in the Children Act 2001, as amended. Children detention schools are focused on the care, welfare and education of young offenders within a secure environment. The objectives of these schools are the provision of education and training and the preparation of the young persons to make positive and productive contributions to their communities on their return to them. They are very different to prison environments and they are not staffed by prison officers. The reference to these establishments as prisons or, as the Deputy put it in his question, industrial schools is inaccurate, although I do not fault the Deputy for it because the report appeared in the newspapers.
In October 2004, a youth justice task force was established to examine the entire youth justice system and make recommendations to improve structures and services. A youth justice reform package was brought to the Government arising from this review. Among the recommendations approved by the Government in December 2005 was the transfer of responsibility for children detention schools from the Department of Education and Science to my Department, to come under the auspices of the Irish Youth Justice Service. The Government also agreed to extend the children detention school model from children aged under 16, to children aged up to 18 years, removing all children from the prison system.
There are currently four children detention schools. Three of these: Oberstown Boys School, Oberstown Girls School and Trinity House are located on a single site in Lusk, County Dublin. The fourth, Finglas Child and Adolescent Centre, a former industrial school, is located in Finglas. The transfer of these schools required legislative changes and the necessary amendments to the Children Act 2001 came into effect on 1 March 2007. The existing buildings are in need of substantial investment and redevelopment and new detention school accommodation is needed to extend the system to include 16 and 17 year old children. Young males aged between 16 and 17 are currently accommodated in St. Patrick's Institution. This facility will continue to be used, only as an interim measure, until sufficient children detention school places are completed. Planning for the additional accommodation is under way. Sufficient space is available on land already owned by the State to accommodate any necessary developments.
What is it planned to construct in Lusk? Will a planning application be made? Exactly what facilities will be provided? What educational services will be provided? What is the timeframe for putting this in place? In the context of the Government decision that the new schools, or detention facilities as they are described, will provide for children up to the age of 18 years, why does it appear that a facility is planned to be put into Thornton Hall for children between the age of 16 and 17? Would such a facility not be contrary to the views of the United Nations committee that reviewed our performance under the convention relating to the rights of the child?
The Deputy has asked a number of questions and I will try to answer them in the time available to me. An expert group was established to plan for the redevelopment of the existing school facilities and the development of new facilities for older children. I am sure the Deputy is aware that some of the buildings at Oberstown require refurbishment, which is the first priority. I understand that the planning process is under way for the refurbishment. The group submitted a progress report in December 2006 and is due to submit its final report by the end of this year. It is considering a range of options, one of which is to locate all the facilities on the existing Lusk site where three of the existing schools are located and another is to consider working on the two sites. Sufficient space is available on lands already owned by the State to accommodate these developments. For that reason I want to put on the record of the House that there are no plans to acquire additional lands in the Lusk area for any further developments, contrary to a recent media report.
The Deputy also mentioned Thornton Hall. The proposed development of a juvenile facility on the Thornton Hall site predated the Government decision to establish the Irish youth justice service and to extend the children detention school model to all children under the age of 18 years. The provision of this facility at Thornton Hall will be a temporary measure only, allowing for the earliest possible closure of St. Patrick's Institution. The development of new children detention school facilities to provide for 16 and 17 year old boys is already in the planning stages within the Irish youth justice service. While these new facilities may not be completed as quickly as Thornton Hall, they will not be in any way delayed or postponed as a result of that development. The Irish youth justice service is committed to delivering dedicated children detention school facilities for all children under the age of 18 entirely separate from any Prison Service locations as quickly as possible.
Is the reality not that the part of this proposal most likely to be speedily implemented is the provision of a new facility within the Prison Service in essentially what will be an adult prison complex in Thornton Hall? Does that not run directly counter to the decision in principle made by the Government in 2005? As the Government is waiting for the committee to complete its deliberations and report, is it not the case that no final decisions have been made on the location of new facilities or the type of facilities to be constructed and that whoever leaked the information to the newspapers was premature?
Final decisions have been made in terms of the capital allocations required to develop these facilities.
However, not on the nature of the facilities.
As part of the transfer from the Department of Education and Science to my Department, the necessary capital was secured to ensure that what is required by the under 18 group would be provided. That was not in place before the Government decision in 2006. Clearly detailed planning is required on the best utilisation of our sites and the appropriate facilities that may be required on them. By the end of this year that report will be on the desk of the Minister of State, Deputy Smith, who was delegated responsibility for this area some days ago. At that point final decisions can be taken on the roll-out of these capital investments. The provision of possible accommodation in Thornton Hall is purely a precautionary measure and that accommodation can be used by adults in due course.
