Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 9 Dec 1997

Vol. 484 No. 3

Written Answers. - Young Detainees.

Paul McGrath

Ceist:

345 Mr. McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Science the number of young boys and young girls under 16 years who had detention sentences imposed on them in each of the past ten years; the number of places available at each of the detention centres for young people; the current waiting list, if any, there is for admission to one of these centres; the procedure, if any, there is to admit offenders sentenced by the courts; the young offenders, if any, who had to be released due to lack of accommodation for them in places of detention; the annual cost of each centre per detainee; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22122/97]

Minister for Education and Science (Mr. Martin)

The information requested by the Deputy in relation to: the number of children under 16 years who had detention sentences imposed on them in each of the past ten years; the number of places available at each of the detention centres and the annual cost of each centre per detainee, is detailed in the following tables.

Children are placed in the young offender centres on foot of detention orders made by the courts. Where it is proposed to impose a custodial sentence, officers of the courts normally contact the centres in advance to confirm the availability of a suitable place. Instances do arise where, for example, a long-term place is not immediately available in the particular facility nominated by the court. In such situations the court is advised of the date on which a place in the facility in question will become available. The court is also advised of available alternative places, for example, vacancies in other centres or available remand places. In such instances, the court may avail of the alternatives offered, pending the availability of the long-term place. The management of the centres operate in close consultation with the courts in such situations.

Precise information on the number of children released due to lack of immediate accommodation in places of detention, is not readily available. The position regarding availability of accommodation can change on an hourly or daily basis, depending on decisions taken in courts throughout the country on individual cases.

There is growing pressure on places for offenders in the 14-15 age group. Proposals to address this issue are being developed in my Department as part of a comprehensive range of measures in the context of the Children Bill, which has been brought forward by my colleague, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. These proposals envisage the development of an extra 24 places for young male offenders in the 14-15 age group and an extra seven places for young female offenders.

I am satisfied that measures already in place, coupled with the developments envisaged under the Children Bill, will bring about a major improvement in the State's capacity to deal with young people coming into conflict with the law.

Table 1

The number of children under 16 years who had detention sentences imposed on them in each of the past ten years and were admitted to the special schools for young offenders.

Year	Girls	Boys	Total
1997	56	431	487
1996	38	500	538
1995	60	429	489
1994	57	436	493
1993	52	478	530
1992	66	440	506
1991	87	307	394
1990	72	267	339
1989	41	301	342
1988	26	253	279
Total	555	3,842	4,397

Table 2

Under current certifications, the number of places provided at the special schools for young offenders is as follows:

Centre	Committal	Remand
St. Joseph's, Clonmel	75	–
Finglas Children's Centre	55	20
Trinity House	28	2
Oberstown Boys Centre	20	10
Oberstown Girls Centre	7	8
Total Number of Places	185	40

Table 3

Unit costs based on the number of places provided in the special schools for young offenders.

Centre	Unit Cost
	£
St. Joseph's, Clonmel	32,380
Finglas Children's Centre	35,636
Trinity House*	90,480
Oberstown Boys Centre**	72,626
Oberstown Girls Centre**	69,650

*Trinity House is the only secure centre in operation and involves staffing levels and other cost factors related to security and control which are not required in other centres.

**The relatively high costs involved in these cases reflects the fact that as Reformatory Schools deal with the older more difficult cases, they require more intensive staffing levels than the Industrial Schools. It is also the case that neither of the reformatory schools enjoy the economies of scale which can be availed of in the Industrial Schools which are both much larger facilities.