Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 9 Oct 2002

Vol. 554 No. 5

Written Answers. - Detention Centres.

David Stanton

Ceist:

727 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Education and Science the number of places in special education centres operated by his Department for young offenders; the average annual running cost of each of the centres; the average duration of attendance of young people at the centres; the average rate of re-offence by those admitted to the centres; the types of curricula followed and the success in reaching benchmarks of literacy and numeracy and examination performance among the students; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17033/02]

Minister for Education and Science (Mr. N. Dempsey):

There are five schools for young offenders under the aegis of my Department. These schools can provide accommodation for up to 115 boys and 15 girls. The schools provide residential care, education and rehabilitation for children up to age 16 years referred by the courts. Children convicted of offences may be committed to the schools for a period ranging from one year to four years. Children on charges before the courts may be remanded in custody to the schools either on remand only or remand for assessment. Remand periods range from days to weeks.

The average annual running cost and duration of attendance of young people in these schools for 2001 is as follows:

Name of School	Average running cost2001	Average duration of attendance	Committal	Remand
	€
Trinity House School	4,994,661.16	14.5 months	4 weeks
Oberstown Boys Centre	4,198,767.88	12 months	10.5 weeks
Oberstown Girls Centre	2,182,867.68	21 months	4.4 weeks
Finglas Children Centre	6,358,608.25	12 months	4.7 weeks
St. Josephs Industrial School, Clonmel	4,723,784.15	24 months	No remand cases

There are no specific statistics on the rate of re-offending of the young people admitted to the centres under the aegis of my Department, however it is likely to be in line with the European average of between 60% and 70%.

The curricula and syllabi on offer at the schools are broadly in line with those in first and second level schools. The general aim is to provide a positive experience of education. A comprehensive educational assessment is carried out on each student on admission and an individual programme of education is drawn up. Many of the students in these schools present with particular problems in literacy and numeracy and a programme is designed for each student on the basis of his or her needs and abilities. Educational programmes can range from intensive learning support in literacy and numeracy to a wide range of academic and practical subjects which can be studies up to State examination level. Although the students who present for the certificate examinations achieve satisfactory results in a range of subjects there has been little research undertaken on examination results.