Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 September 2013
35. Deputy Peter Mathews asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs when she intends to legislate for the amalgamation of children detention schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38838/13]
View answerI would like to inform the Deputy that earlier this year I obtained the approval of the Government to draft the Children (Amendment) Bill 2013. This Bill will provide for the amendment of Parts 9 and 10 of the Children Act 2001 on the basis of the Heads and General Scheme of the Bill which were then published. The Bill is currently being drafted. It is intended that the Bill will be introduced to the Houses during this session.
The primary objective of the proposed Children Amendment Bill is to provide a statutory basis for the amalgamation of the three children detention schools. This will complement and reinforce the initiatives to date to create a “single campus” ethos and maximise the use of shared services between all 3 existing children detention schools.
A number of technical amendments will also be made to certain provisions to improve their workability and address lacunae which have been identified in practice in consultation with the office of the Attorney General.
There are currently 3 children detention schools in the State: Trinity House, Oberstown Boys and Oberstown Girls schools. All are located on the same campus at Oberstown, near Lusk, Co. Dublin. These schools currently accommodate girls under 18 years of age and boys under 17 whose detention is ordered by the Courts on remand or on conviction for criminal offences.
As the Deputy may be aware, reforms have been underway towards integrated delivery of services across the three children detention schools with a view to the more efficient use of resources including the centralisation of services, common policies across the three schools and more efficient use of accommodation. The Board of Management, chaired by Mr. Joe Horan and school management are currently implementing a new cross-campus roster.
The Public Appointments Service (PAS) has recently conducted a recruitment competition for the position of campus manager and it is intended that the successful candidate will, in due course, become the Director of the amalgamated campus.
