Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 2 Nov 1999

Vol. 509 No. 6

Written Answers. - Children Bill.

Dan Neville

Ceist:

534 Mr. Neville asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the differences between the Children Bill, 1996, and the Children Bill, 1999, presented by him on 27 September 1999; and if he will itemise the differences in detail. [21700/99]

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. O'Donoghue)

The Children Bill, 1996 was thoroughly examined in my Department to identify appropriate changes which would ensure that it could more effectively meet its objectives, that it would reflect the most modern thinking on juvenile justice and that it took account of comments I made in my contribution, when Opposition spokesperson on Justice, to the Second Stage debate on the 1996 Bill.

The examination, which was carried out in co-operation with the Departments of Health and Children and Education and Science. gave rise to the need for a thorough recasting of the 1996 Bill in the form of a new Bill. The following are some of the more significant changes contained in the new Bill.

The Bill will raise the age of criminal responsibility from seven years to 12 years. The 1996 Bill proposed to raise the age to 10 years. Provision is being made for a family welfare conference. This will be a preventative measure, organised by the health boards, aimed at providing services for children at risk and their families. There will be a greatly expanded role for restorative justice within the statutory Garda diversion programme. This will include: the introduction of restorative cautioning, namely, a more pro-active version, with the victim in attendance, of the present system of administering a formal caution; provision for a person who is not a member of the Garda Síochána to chair the conference which will be an integral part of the diversion programme; and an action plan and a written "contract" of compliance with the plan.

It is proposed to further expand the restorative justice provisions by the introduction of a court directed and supervised family conference. This conference will be operated by the probation and welfare service. It is proposed to introduce a special residential services board to ensure the efficient, effective and co-ordinated delivery of services to children on whom children detention orders have been imposed – offenders – or in respect of whom special care orders have been made – out of control non-offenders.

It is proposed to ensure that any person who aids, abets, counsels or procures an underage child to "commit an offence" will be guilty of that offence.

There is provision for a new court imposed parental supervision order. Where the courts are unable to impose detention in a children detention school due to lack of space, they will, as an alternative, be empowered to impose an appropriate community sanction – to prevent the development of a revolving door. There is pro vision for a combined detention and supervision in the community order for 16 and 17 year old children.

There is provision for the operation of places of detention for 16 and 17 year olds found guilty of offences – provided by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform – under rules separate from those applying to prisons and other places of detention.

In light of the proposal to introduce a special residential services board, the previous plan for a single board of management for the children detention schools is being replaced by a proposal that each school or natural grouping of schools will have its own statutory management board appointed by the Minister for Education and Science. A new inspection system for the children detention schools is proposed. The leave arrangements in the schools have been totally recast to allow for greater flexibility and to allow for mobility trips and unaccompanied absences for the purpose of seeking employment or gaining work experience, etc.

The measures dealing with the protection of children are being expanded to provide a more broadly based definition of cruelty. The Child Care Act, 1991, is being amended so that any institution for the care and protection of physically or mentally handicapped children will no longer be excluded from the definition of "children's residential centres".

The examination referred to above also identified the need for minor or drafting changes to most sections of the 1996 Bill. These are too numerous to itemise.