asked the Minister for Education if she will give the following information in respect of each of the two registered reformatory schools, Scoil Ard Mhuire, Lusk, and Trinity House school, Lusk: (a) the legislative basis for the establishment of the school, the registration of the school and the appointment of the Board of Management or management committee; (b) the names of the members of the school's Board of Management or management committee; and, in the case of each member, the date of appointment, the term of appointment and the relevant qualifications for appointment to the board; and (c) the basis on which responsibility is divided between her and the Board of Management; the procedures for reporting between her and the Board of Management; how often meetings of the Board of Management have been held; the limits on the responsibility of the Board of Management; and the written regulations, if any, which cover these matters.
Written Answers. - County Dublin Reformatory Schools.
(a) Scoil Ard Mhuire and Trinity House school, Lusk are both certified reformatory schools under the provision of the Children Act, 1908, Section 45(2). Scoil Ard Mhuire was certified by the then Minister for Education as a reformatory school on 30 January 1974 and Trinity House by the present Minister on 16 March 1983, Both schools combined under the title of Oberstown Youth Centre are recognised by the Minister as a special national school.
Oberstown Youth Centre is managed on behalf of the Minister by an executive board of management composed of (i) Chairman, nominated by the Minister for Education, (ii) one member each nominated by the Ministers for Health, Justice and Education, (iii) one member nominated by the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, (iv) five members of the public nominated by the Minister for Education.
(b) All members of the board were appointed on 1 September 1984 for a term of four years. The name of the members of the Board are: Seán Mac Gleannáin, divisional inspector, Department of Education, L. Ó Críodháin, assistant principal officer, Department of Education, Miss M. Hayes, assistant principal officer, Department of Health, Rev. L. O'Brien, Rose Lodge, Ratoath Road, Cabra, Dublin 7, (representative of Archbishop of Dublin), Mrs. S. Campbell, 29 Willow Park Road, Ballymum, Dublin 11, (teacher with experience on former Board of Management of Trinity House), Mr. P. Casey, 69 Bourne Ave., Ashbourne, Co. Meath, (teacher with experience on former Board of Management of Trinity House), Mr. T. Seaver, Moylough, The Commons, Lusk, (representative of Lusk Community Council), Dr. A. McInerney, Huntstown House, Mulhuddard, (former board member of Scoil Ard Mhuire), Mr. Ó Mórdha, 89 Butterfield Park, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14. (former Deputy Chief Inspector, Department of Education). The Minister for Justice has not so far nominated a member to the board.
(c) The board of management is responsible to the Minister for (i) the direct government of the centre in accordance with policy guidelines laid down by the Minister and regulations made under the Children Acts, (ii) the selection, appointment and dismissal of staff subject to the Minister's approval, (iii) financial management and control within approved budgetary procedures, (iv) the maintenance and upkeep of the premises, furniture and equipment, (v) providing the Minister with an annual report on the operation of the centre and such other reports, statistics and information as the Minister may require from time to time.
The Board of Management holds regular monthly meetings. A copy of the constitution and rules of procedure of the board of management is attached.
Oberstown Youth Centre
Constitution and Rules of Procedure of Board of Management.
1. General
Oberstown Youth Centre is an amalgamation of the former Scoil Ard Mhuire and Trinity House School. It is registered as a reformatory school under the 1908 Children Act and its purpose is to discharge certain responsibilities of the Minister for Education under the 1908 Children Act. It has accommodation for up to 100 boys in both open and closed settings. The closed section can accommodate a group of 30 particularly difficult boys in the age range 12-16 on admission. The open section can accommodate up to 70 boys in the same age range with less severe problems. A continuous programme of care, education and training is provided on the campus. The primary objective of the programme is to prevent further damage to the boys and to enable them to adjust to themselves and to the requirements of society. To achieve this objective varying periods of intensive care will be provided, in the course of which they will live in easily manageable groups where supportive relationships with adults can be developed. This care will be orientated towards the child's return to his own community, with an increased sense of responsibility and of consideration for others. A range of specialised facilities in care, education, training and recreation are provided to achieve these aims. These facilities are viewed not as separate entities but as integral parts of a total living treatment situation which grow into each other in a natural way. Boys will be referred to the centre by the Courts and, in certain cases, to the open section by the Health Boards. No boy, properly referred by the Courts, can be refused admission, provided accommodation is available, except with the express authority of the Minister for Education.
2. The Patron
The patron of the Centre is the Minister for Education who is responsible for the appointment of the Board of Management. The Minister will lay down broad policy guidelines and allocate an annual budget for the running of the centre.
3. Functions of the Board of Management
The Centre will be managed on behalf of the Minister by an executive Board of Management with the following functions:
(i) The direct government of the centre in accordance with policy guidelines laid down by the Minister for Education and regulations made by the Minister under the Children Acts;
(ii) The selection, appointment and dismissal of staff subject to the Minister's approval;
(iii) financial management and control within approved budgetary procedures;
(iv) the maintenance and upkeep of the premises, furniture and equipment;
(v) providing the Minister with an annual report on the operation of the Centre and such other reports, statistics and information as the Minister may require from time to time.
4. Composition of the Board of Management
The Board shall comprise the following:—
(i) Chairperson nominated by the Minister for Education
(ii) One member each nominated by the Minister for (a) Health (b) Justice (c) Education.
(iii) One member nominated by His Grace the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin.
(iv) Five members of the public appointed by the Minister for Education.
The Board of Management will have a term of office of three years from the opening of Oberstown Youth Centre.
5. Confidentiality
Members of the Board are required to keep confidential matters discussed at meetings, unless otherwise permitted by the Board. Where the Minister is satisfied, after due investigation and following receipt of a recommendation from the Board, that any member of the Board infringed this injunction of confidentiality, the Minister will remove that member from membership.
6. Procedure for Board Meetings.
(i) The board shall meet at such times as the conduct of business may require, not being less than four times in each year.
(ii) Seven clear days at least before any meetings of the Board, a notice of the time and place of the intended meeting together with the agenda for the meeting-shall be sent to every member by the Secretary of the Board.
(iii) The quorum of the Board shall be one half of the members of the Board. The proceedings of the Board shall not be invalidated by reason of any vacancy among the members or by reason of any defect in the nomination or qualifications of any members thereof.
(iv) Every question before a duly convened meeting of the Board shall be determined by a majority of votes of the members present and voting thereon and where there is an equal division of votes the Chairperson of the meeting may exercise a second or casting vote; the names of those voting for and against a motion shall be recorded.
(v) Minutes of the proceedings of the Board shall be recorded in an appropriate form and shall be signed by the Chairperson of the meeting at which the proceedings were minuted or by the Chairperson of the next ensuing meeting.
(vi) The Chairperson must call a meeting of the Board within 21 days of the receipt by him of a request in writing for such a meeting signed by at least one-third of the members of the Board.
(vii) The above procedures apply to ordinary meetings of the Board. In exceptional circumstances, the Chairperson may call a special meeting of the Board to decide a particular issue. In such circumstances only the special issue may be discussed and the quorum for such meetings shall be one quarter of the full membership of the Board.
7. Duties of the Chairperson.
(i) The Chairperson appointed by the Minister shall preside at meetings of the Board. He/she may nominate a deputy to take his/her place in his/her absence, or alternatively the Board may elect a Chairperson for a particular meeting in the absence of the appointed Chairperson. The Chairperson shall act as correspondent with the Department of Education and all outside bodies. The Chairperson shall not commence a meeting unless a quorum of members is present. The Board may authorise the Chairperson, and/or another member, to act on its behalf for a specified period of time in respect of a particular function or functions. The Chairperson shall be an assessor in connection with the appointment of any permanent member of the staff.
(ii) In the case of the resignation or death of a member or when a member ceases to be eligible the Chairperson shall inform the Minister who shall nominate another person to the Board.
(iii) The Chairperson shall arrange the time and place of meetings. He/she should see to it that meetings start punctually and that all contributions at meetings are addressed to him/her as Chairman. At least ten days before each meeting he/she should arrange with the Secretary the agenda for the meeting. Requests for inclusion of items on the agenda should be submitted to the Secretary at least 11 days before the meeting.
(iv) The Board may authorise the Chairperson to act on behalf of the board in entering into an agreement with each new member of staff appointed to the permanent staff of the Centre.
(v) The Board may authorise the Chairperson to act on its behalf in certifying the various returns and other official documents and forms as required.
8. Secretary
The Secretary of the Board of Management will be the Director of the Centre. While not a member of the Board, the Director will attend all meetings of the Board or subcommittees of it. In certain instances the Chairperson may nominate a deputy director to attend on behalf of the Director. A member of the administrative staff of Oberstown Youth Centre may accompany the Director for the purposes of recording minutes. The Director may, with the permission of the Chairperson, contribute to the discussion but he will not propose any resolutions or vote on them. The minutes of each meeting in an appropriate form will be available on request to representatives of the Minister and to the Department of Education. Decisions reached at a meeting shall be recorded in the minute. The Director-Secretary will be responsible for implementing decisions of the Board and for communicating decisions of the Board to other members of staff.
9. Treasurer
The Treasurer of the Board will be the Director of the Centre. He will be responsible for keeping all the accounts of the Centre. He must lodge all money in the Centre Bank Account and make all payments by cheque signed by those delegated by the Board for this purpose. A number of payments may be made by one cheque if found convenient. A petty cash account may be operated. The Secretary/Treasurer shall arrange that at each meeting an up-to-date statement of the Centre accounts is presented giving details of income and expenditure since the previous meeting and a running record of how budgeted targets are being met. Vouchers of expenditure will be retained for inspection and audit by officials of the Department of Education. All these documents shall be available on request to the representatives of the Board of Management or of the Department of Education. The day-to-day running of the finances of the Centre may be delegated to the appropriate staff officer and the staff officer may be requested to attend Board meetings or sub-committees of the Board.
10. Employment of relations of Board Members.
Every member of the Board shall disclose in writing to the Chairperson of the Board any relevant family relationship, as defined in the next paragraph, known to him to exist between himself and any person who is employed, or is a candidate for employment in the school, and all such disclosures shall as soon as practicable be brought by the Chairperson to the notice of the Board and recorded in the minutes. Where the Minister is satisfied, after due investigation and following the receipt of a recommendation from the Board, that any member of the Board failed at a material time to disclose a relevant family relationship as herein defined, that person shall be removed from membership of the Board and shall not be eligible for nomination to any subsequent Board of Management.
For the purposes of the preceding paragraph, a relevant family relationship shall be deemed to exist between a member and a person who is employed or is a candidate for employment in the school if they are husband and wife, or if the person who is employed or is a candidate for employment or the husband or wife of that person is the (i) parent; (ii) grandparent; (iii) grandson or grandaughter; (iv) son or daughter; (v) brother or sister; (vi) uncle or aunt; (vii) nephew or niece of the member or of the husband or wife of the member.
If the member required to make the disclosure mentioned in the above paragraph is present at any meeting of the Board at which any question relating to the person to whom he stands in a relevant family relationship is under consideration, he shall withdraw from the meeting while that question is being considered and his withdrawal shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting.
In the case of a member of the Board who is employed or is a candidate for employment in the Centre such member shall withdraw from the meeting of the Board at which any question relating to him is being considered and his withdrawal shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting.
11. Absence of members from Board Meetings.
(i) A member of the Board may resign by giving written notice to the Chairman of the Board who shall forthwith inform the Minister in writing; (ii) If a member of the Board absents himself/herself without good cause from meetings of the Board during a period in which three consecutive meetings are held, the Chairman shall forthwith in writing inform the Minister who may nominate another person to replace the said member of the Board.
12. The Appointment of Staff.
All appointments of staff in the Centre shall be made by the Board of Management in accordance with the procedures set out below and subject to the prior approval of the Department of Education.
In filling vacancies the following procedures will be followed:
(i) a vacancy shall be announced by public advertisement giving appropriate particulars of the post and inviting applications to the Secretary of the Board of Management;
(ii) each applicant will be required to complete an application form and when the selection board provided for below has been constituted, all the completed application forms shall be sent to the selection board;
(iii) the Board will appoint a selection board of not less than three persons, and the Chairperson of the Board or his/her nominee will act as Chairperson of the selection board. Each selection board will include the director of the school or a deputy, and one other member of the Board and such other person or persons with particular expertise as the Board may determine from time to time;
(iv) The selection board will shortlist the applicants for interview and at the conclusion of the interview procedures will send a report of their recommendations to the Board of Management.
(v) The Board of Management having considered the report of the selection board will decide on an appointment and all applicants nominated for positions will be submitted to the Department of Education for approval and clearance.
(vi) No applicant will be offered an appointment until ratification of his appointment has been received from the Department of Education.
(vii) In periods of difficulty and in exceptional circumstances the Chairman in consultation with the Board of Management may make temporary appointments for a short period pending the advertising of a permanent post and subject to the prior approval of the Department of Education.
APPENDIX.
The Duties of Director vis-à-vis the Board of Management.
(i) Under the 1908 Children Act the Board of Management acts as "managers". The Director for the time being will assume all the duties and responsibilities of resident manager under the Children Act, with the exception that the right to refuse any child properly referred is reserved to the Minister for Education.
(ii) The Director will ensure that the decisions of the Board are implemented. In this connection the decisions of the former Board of Trinity House School stand unless or until they are amended by the Board of the Oberstown Youth Centre.
(iii) The Director will ensure that the Rules and Regulations of the Department of Education are observed. He will ensure that all members of staff and particularly senior members of staff are fulfilling their duties in accordance with their job specifications.
(iv) He will ensure that at all times a high standard of child care practice obtains in the centre and that no child's rights are infringed.
(v) The Director will ensure that in the event of an absconding, unapproved absence, or other untoward eventuality the child's parents or guardians are informed as a matter of urgency. Where an infringement of the law is involved he will see to it that the competent Garda authorities are informed.
(vi) The Director, under the authority of the Board of Management, has operational responsibility for the day-to-day running of the Centre. It will be a matter for his professional judgement to decide the programme of each boy, in consultation with the other professional staff of the centre and consultant staff. He will ensure unrestricted access to all parts of the Centre by the Department's Child Care Adviser and will make available to him any information required on any boy.
(vii) The Director's reporting relationship with the Board of Management will be through the Chairperson or, in his absence, through his nominated deputy. On matters concerning individual children the Director will be empowered to make whatever outside contacts are necessary for the working of the school. He will ensure however that in matters of policy neither he nor any of his staff will make any statements which have not previously been approved by the Board of Management. When an individual member of the Board of Management visits the school in the capacity of representing the Board, the Director will ensure that such Board member has unrestricted access to all parts of the Centre for the purposes of the visit.
(viii) Notwithstanding paragraph (vii) above, the Director will furnish any particular information to any official of the Special Education Section of the Department of Education.
557.
asked the Minister for Education the circumstances in which the Oblate Order withdrew from the management of Scoil Ard Mhuire, Lusk, and the arrangements which (a) she and (b) the Board of Management of the school, made for the continued management of the school.
On 4 October 1983 the Provincial of the Oblate Order informed the Minister of State at the Department of Education that it was the intention of the order to withdraw from the management of the school within 12 months. The Department made inquiries to ascertain whether any other religious order wished or were in a position to replace the Oblates and were informed by the Education Secretariate of the Diocese of Dublin that no other religious order was available to replace the Oblates.
As Scoil Ard Mhuire and Trinity House were both reformatory schools situated on the same campus the Minister for Education decided that in order to provide a continuum of care, education and training across the campus, the schools should be amalgamated under the name of Oberstown Youth Centre and be managed by one board of management and one director. The Oblate Order withdrew their services on 31 August 1984, the two separate boards of management for the schools resigned and the new board of management became effective from 1 September 1984.
558.
asked the Minister for Education the reason the post of resident manager or director of Scoil Ard Mhuire was not advertised when it became vacant following the withdrawal of the Oblate Order in accordance with practice throughout the public service; and the functions exercised variously, (a) by herself and (b) by the Board of Management of the school, in filling the post.
Following the withdrawal of the Oblate Order from the management of Scoil Ard Mhuire, Lusk, it was decided to amalgamate Scoil Ard Mhuire and Trinity House school to form the Oberstown Youth Centre. The positions of director of Scoil Ard Mhuire and director of Trinity House school were suppressed and the former director of Trinity House school became the director of the Oberstown Youth Centre. There was therefore no need to advertise for the position of director of Scoil Ard Mhuire as that position no longer existed.
559.
asked the Minister for Education (a) the number and description of the posts which comprise the establishment of Trinity House school; (b) the number of appointments which have been made to the school; and (c) the number of resignations from the staff since it opened.
Trinity House school, Lusk has the following staffing establishment: one director (also responsible for Scoil Ard Mhuire, Lusk), one deputy director (care), one deputy director (education) — also responsible for the education programme at Scoil Ard Mhuire, Lusk, one deputy director (senior psychologist) — also responsible for psychological requirements of Scoil Ard Mhuire, Lusk, one head of care, three team leaders of care staff, 29 basic grade care staff, 13 duty officers, two nightwatchmen, eight teachers/craft instructors, (the craft instructors also cater for Scoil Ard Mhuire), one staff officer (finance), one secretary, one clerical assistant, one nurse, one housekeeper, one chef, one assistant chef, eight general domestic staff, one buildings maintenance officer, one assistant buildings maintenance officer, one grounds man.
Since Trinity House opened some 88 people have been appointed to the staff while some 17 people have resigned from the staff.
560.
asked the Minister for Education the number of incidents at Trinity House school, Lusk in which injury to persons or damage to property was sustained; and if she will give the following information in each case: (a) the date of the incident; (b) the number of children or young persons who were involved; (c) the number of children or young persons, if any, who escaped; (d) the amount of damage caused and/or the nature of personal injury sustained; and (e) the action taken variously, (i) by herself and (ii) by the board of management and/or the director to prevent a recurrence of the incident.
|
Date of Incident |
No. of boys involved |
No. who absconded |
Nature of damage/Injury |
Action taken to prevent recurrence |
|
1/5/1983 |
5 |
5 |
Damage to light panels and roof tiles. |
light panels were reinforced. |
|
10/5/1983 |
4 |
— |
3 or 4 boys assaulted 2 staff members who suffered a cut eye and a blow to the head; gym equipment damaged. |
incident dealt with by local management. |
|
19/6/1983 |
1 |
1 |
Boy assaulted member of staff following apprehension after absconding. Staff member hit in the eye and shirt torn. |
no action. |
|
8/8/1983 |
6 |
— |
Assaulted staff, smashed furniture and broke windows. |
3 of the boys were committed to St. Patrick's Institution. House Unit was re-organised to ensure that boys could not assemble in the large groups. |
|
21/5/1984 |
1 |
— |
Boy assaulted 2 members of staff. |
charged with assault by Garda. |
|
24/5/1984 |
1 |
— |
Boy assaulted a member of staff |
boy charged by Garda with assault. |
|
16/8/1984 |
1 |
— |
Member of staff was hit on the back with a Pool Cue |
boy charged in District Court and committed to Trinity House for a further 2 years. |
|
3/10/1984 |
1 |
— |
Member of staff assaulted by boy with gym equipment. |
boy charged with assault, appeared in Court on 9/10/1984. |
|
5/10/1984 |
2 |
— |
1 boy assaulted another boy |
boy charged and convicted. |
|
13/10/1984 |
5 |
— |
1 member of staff jumped upon by one of the boys; another member of staff was punched and kicked and his hair was pulled. |
2 boys charged with assault and convicted. |
|
1/11/1984 |
1 |
— |
Member of staff stabbed in shoulder with biro |
boy appeared in Court and convicted of assault. |
|
4/11/1984 |
1 |
1 |
Boy threw stones at member of staff who was escorting him on mobility trip. |
boy charged with assault. |
|
21/11/1984 |
10 |
4 |
10 boys barricaded themselves in schoolroom, smashed furniture broke through ceiling and roof tiles; member of staff received cut on head with metal bar, required stitches in wound |
Garda called. All boys charged with malicious damage, one with assault 4 with absconding; of 4 absconders 2 returned to Trinity House. Board of Management conducted an enquiry. Temporary repair to building carried out pending reinforcements to improve security. |
|
23/11/1984 |
1 |
— |
Boy damaged his bedroom |
certified unruly by District Court, sent to St. Patrick's; bedroom fittings repaired. |
|
1/12/1984 |
2 |
2 |
Boys broke through ceiling and roof tiles |
bedroom ceilings reinforced. |
|
27/1/1984 |
3 |
— |
3 boys attacked staff member and tried to barricade themselves in room |
Intervention by other staff and senior management brought matter under control. |
|
1/2/1985 |
1 |
1 |
Boy broke through ceiling and absconded, causing minor damage to ceiling and roof tiles. |
boy apprehended and returned to school within 45 minutes. |
|
21/3/1985 |
1 |
— |
Boy attacked member of staff who received cuts to his face. |
boy charged with assault by Garda. |
Action was taken in all these cases by the board of management or the director acting for the board.
561.
asked the Minister for Education the number of persons transferred to Trinity House school, Lusk, under section 69 (2) of the Children Act, 1908, since the school was opened, specifying in each case: (a) the name of the industrial or reformatory school from which he was transferred; (b) the grounds of his original committal, including, in the case of an offender, the nature of the offence.
Details of the number of persons transferred to Trinity House School under section 69 (2) of the Children Act, 1908, are as follows:
(i) From Loughan House, County Cavan (reformatory school) — 14 persons; 11 committed for larceny, 2 committed for car theft, 1 committed for larceny, assault and rape.
(ii) From Scoil Ard Mhuire, Lusk (reformatory school) — 3 persons; 1 committed for assault, 2 committed for larceny.
(iii) From St. Joseph's Special School, Clonmel (industrial school) — 4 persons committed for larceny.
(iv) From St. Bernard's Residential Home, Fethard, County Tipperary (industrial school) — 1 person committed for larceny.
562.
asked the Minister for Education the number of persons transferred to Scoil Ard Mhuire under section 69 (2) of the Children Act, 1908, since the school was opened specifying in each case: (a) the name of the industrial or reformatory school from which he was transferred; and (b) the grounds of his original committal, including, in the case of an offender, the nature of the offence.
Details of the number of persons transferred to Scoil Ard Mhuire, Lusk, under section 69 (2) of the Children Act, 1908, are as follows:
(i) From Trinity House School, Lusk, (reformatory school) — 6 persons: 3 committed for larceny, 1 committed for assault, 1 committed for indecent exposure, 1 committed for lack of parental control.
(ii) From Loughan House, Cavan (reformatory school) — 9 persons: 7 committed for larceny, 1 committed for car theft, 1 committed for breaking and entering.
(iii) From St. Laurence's Special School, Finglas (industrial school) — 1 person committed for malicious damage.
(iv) From St. Joseph's Residential Home, Killarney (industrial school) — 3 persons committed for lack of proper guardianship.
(v) From Nazareth Residential Home, Tralee (industrial school) — 2 persons, both committed for lack of proper guardianship.
563.
asked the Minister for Education (a) the number of children or young persons who have been committed to Trinity House school on remand since it opened; (b) the length of time in each case the child or young person has been held; and (c) the conditions under which they are held on remand with particular reference to their isolation from, or being able to mix with, other children or young persons in the school.
Since Trinity House school became operational in March 1983, 14 boys have been committed to the school on remand. Of this total five boys have been held for one week, five boys have been held for two weeks, one boy has been held for 17 days, one boy has been held for three weeks, one boy has been held for four weeks and one boy has been held for seven weeks.
Normally boys are only committed on remand to Trinity House school when there is a need for them to be contained in a secure environment. They are not segregated from the other boys at the school and they participate fully in the same programmes of care and education.
564.
asked the Minister for Education if she will give the following information in respect of each special or residential school registered as a reformatory school or an industrial school: (a) the total number of children or young persons in care or under detention on 30 June 1984 classified by the basis of their committal; (b) the number of new committals, the number of discharges and the average daily occupancy during the year ending 30 June 1984; and (c) the total cost of running the establishment in the year ending 30 June 1984.
Details of the number of young persons in the special residential schools on 30 June 1984 and the operating costs of the schools are as follows:
1. Finglas Children's Centre.
(a) Number in residence on 30 June 1984 — 62: 1 committed for receiving stolen property; 10 committed for larceny; 11 committed under the School Attendance Act; 1 committed for assault; 1 committed for car theft; 1 committed for breaking and entering and larceny; 1 committed for travelling in a stolen vehicle; 21 referred by the health boards; 15 remand cases in St. Michael's Assessment Unit.
(b) (i) Committals for year ended 30 June 1984 — 13 persons: 7 committed under the School Attendance Act; 3 committed for larceny; 1 committed for receiving stolen property; 1 committed for car theft; 1 committed for travelling in a stolen vehicle.
(ii) The average daily occupancy was 55 persons.
(iii) 16 persons were discharged in the year ended 30 June 1984.
(c) The cost of operating Finglas Children's Centre in the year ended 30 June 1984 was £894,018, giving an annual unit cost of £16,254 per boy.
2. Scoil Ard Mhuire, Lusk.
(a) Number in residence on 30 June 1984 — 28: 16 committed for larceny; 4 committed for lack of proper guardianship; 1 committed for malicious damage; 1 committed for indecent assault; 1 committed out of parental control; 5 referred by the health boards.
(b) (i) Committals for year ended 30 June 1984 — 10 persons: 6 committed for larceny; 1 committed out of parental control; 1 committed for indecent assault; 1 committed for lack of proper guardianship.
(ii) The average daily occupancy was 30 persons.
(iii) Seven persons were discharged in the year ended 30 June 1984.
(c) The cost of operating Scoil Ard Mhuire, Lusk, in the year ended 30 June 1984 was £545,451 giving an annual unit cost of £18,184 per boy.
3. St. Joseph's Special School, Clonmel.
(a) Number in residence on 30 June 1984 — 68: 33 referred by the health boards; 14 committed for larceny; 12 committed under the School Attendance Act; 5 committed for lack of proper guardianship; 1 committed for malicious damage; 1 committed for trespassing; 1 committed for being out of parental control; 1 committed for breaking and entering and larceny.
(b) (i) Committals for year ended 30 June 1984 — 9 persons: 4 committed for larceny; 3 committed under the School Attendance Act; 1 committed for lack of proper guardianship; 1 committed for malicious damage.
(ii) The average daily occupancy was 71 persons.
(iii) Ten persons were discharged in the year ended 30 June 1984.
(c) The cost of operating St. Joseph's Special School, Clonmel in the year ended 30 June 1984 was £676,439 giving an annual unit cost of £9,527 per boy.
4. Trinity House School, Lusk
(a) Number in residence on 30 June 1984 — 29: 1 committed for indecent assault; 16 committed for larceny; 6 committed for assault; 3 committed for malicious damage; 1 committed for larceny, assault and rape; 1 committed for unlawful possession of car; 1 committed for being a passenger in a stolen car.
(b) (i) Committals for year ended 30 June 1984 — 20 persons: 11 committed for larceny; 3 committed for malicious damage; 4 committed for assault; 1 committed for indecent assault; 1 committed for being a passenger in a stolen car.
(ii) The average daily occupancy was 25 persons.
(iii) 12 persons were discharged in the year ended 30 June 1984.
(c) The cost of operating Trinity House School, Lusk, in the year ended 30 June 1984 was £756,395 giving an annual unit cost of £30,255 per boy.
565.
asked the Minister for Education if she will describe the difference between Trinity House school and other registered reformatory schools in terms of: (a) provision for security; and (b) regime or method of care or treatment of the person committed there; and the arrangements if any, she has made to monitor and evaluate the operation of, and results achieved by, Trinity House as compared with other establishments.
There are two certified reformatory schools: Scoil Ard Mhuire, Lusk, and Trinity House School, Lusk. Scoil Ard Mhuire is an "open" school. The containment of the boys is dependent on the supervision of the staff (care staff and teachers) and the co-operation of the boys themselves.
Trinity House is a "secure" school. Security is provided in the structure of the building as well as in the number of staff responsible for the supervision of the boys. In both Scoil Ard Mhuire and Trinity House boys are placed on a carefully planned programme of rehabilitation which is structured to meet the individual needs of each boy. It focuses especially on identifying the positive aspects of each boy's behaviour and builds on strengths. A number of models of treatment are used depending on the response of each boy. The general aim is to improve each boy's self image and to reintegrate him into society as soon as possible.
The operation of Trinity House is carefully monitored by the Board of Management on behalf of the Minister. The staff of the school includes a full time psychologist, part of whose duties is to research into the efficacy of the programme. As the school did not become fully operational until the latter half of 1983 insufficient data is available as yet to evaluate the results achieved compared with other institutions.