Dan Neville
Ceist:352 Mr. Neville asked the Minister for Health and Children his plans to end the practice of placing non-offending children in facilities for offenders. [12908/03]
Written Answers. - Children in Care.
I assume the Deputy is referring to the practice, following the FN judgment in 1995, of the High Court in judicial review or other proceedings, making orders for the detention of non-offending children in need of special care or protection in detention facilities for offending children in a small number of cases.
This practice has greatly diminished in recent years with the increase in the number of health board high support and special care places for non-offending children who need more intensive intervention and with the development of other services. Approximately €40 million in capital funding has been made available by this Government through the health boards to put in place additional high support and special care places. The number of such places has increased from 17 in 1996 to a current total of more than 120.
A five place regional special care unit for boys is due to open later this year in the Mid-Western Health Board. In addition a number of intensive community based services have been put in place to provide for the needs of this group of children, for example, the Youth Advocacy Pilot Projects in the Northern Area Health Board and the Western Health Board which commenced last year.
While High Court orders of detention are currently required by health boards to detain non-offending children with challenging behaviour in special care units, work is at an advanced stage with a view to introducing Parts 2, 3 and 11 of the Children Act 2001 later this year. These Parts provide a statutory scheme for non-offending children in need of special care or protection to be placed in special care units on foot of a special care order made by the District Court in appropriate circumstances as a last resort and for as short a period as possible. Taken together these measures should obviate the need for applications to be made to the High Court for orders for detention of non-offending children in need of special care or protection.