Vol. 571 No. 2
288 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Health and Children the sections of the Children Act 2001 that have so far been implemented; his plans and timescale for the implementation of the remaining sections of the Act; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21458/03]
The Children Act 2001, introduces a wide range of innovative measures that will provide a statutory framework for the future development of the juvenile justice system in accordance with modern thinking and best international practice. The Act also amends the Child Care Act 1991 by providing for the detention in special care units of non-offending children with challenging behaviour, establishes the Special Residential Services Board to ensure the efficient and co-ordinated delivery of services to young children in detention, and re-enacts and updates provisions in the Children Act 1908 protecting children from abuse by persons who have the custody, charge or care of them. The Deputy will appreciate that the Children Act is very complex and comprehensive legislation and, for those reasons, provisions under the Act are being implemented on a phased basis, as was envisaged at the time of enactment.
Responsibility for implementing the Children Act 2001 lies with three Departments, Justice, Equality and Law Reform and Education and Science in respect of juvenile offending, and Health and Children in respect of children who are non-offending but out of control. The National Children's Office is co-ordinating the cross-departmental aspects of the implementation of the Act.
The first commencement order under the Act in respect of the Department for Justice, Equality and Law Reform was signed by the then Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform on 23 April 2002. The position in relation to further commencement is as set out below.
The Minister for Health and Children has responsibility for Parts 2, 3 and 11 of the Act. Work is at an advanced stage with a view to introducing these parts 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, in appropriate circumstances as a last resort. Such placements will be on foot of a special care order made by the District Court and for as short a period of time as possible.
The Minister for Education and Science has responsibility for Part 10 of the Act, which provides for the establishment of children detention schools to replace the existing reformatory and industrial schools. These provisions cannot be commenced until separate detention facilities are provided for 16 and 17 year old girls. A key consideration in commencing the Children Act is the identification of the appropriate number of residential places required under the new arrangements. An independent international expert in residential care was commissioned to review the residential requirements for children detention schools so as to ensure that there are sufficient and appropriate places into the future. The expert report has been referred to the various interests and the views of the Special Residential Services Board have been sought.
The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform has responsibility for the remaining parts to be commenced. It is an underlying concept of the Children Act to expand the options a court will have at its disposal when deciding on how to deal with a young offender. These options are an essential feature of the Act, as they will allow effect to be given to the principle that detention for young offenders will be a last resort. Thus, the Act envisages committals to custody of young offenders being availed of only in situations where other diversions and community-based options have been resorted to and have failed.
The successful implementation of the community-based options in the Act will require a very significant input from the probation and welfare service. In this context, the probation and welfare service, as part of its planning for implementation of the Children Act 2001, engaged trainers from the Department of Child, Youth and Family in New Zealand for the intensive training of all senior probation and welfare officers as facilitators for family conferences to be convened and managed in accordance with the requirements of the Act as well as providing day seminars for all probation and welfare officers. The service will provide ongoing training through its staff development unit as required.
Nine additional probation and welfare officers took up duty in September 2003 and a response to other offers of appointment is awaited. It is the intention that, subject to an adequate number of staff being recruited from this competition and a new competition, which is under way at present, and to the availability of adequate resources for therapeutic or other interventions required, community sanctions provided for in the Act will commence to be implemented in 2004.
Under the Children Act, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform will be obliged to provide separate detention facilities for 16 and 17 year old boys and girls who are committed to custody by the courts either on remand or under sentence. The provision of appropriate custodial facilities is a priority for the Irish Prison Service. The primary objective of these detention centres will be to provide a secure but supportive environment in which young offenders can develop the personal and social skills necessary to avoid future offending.
In line with this, a new facility for male juveniles in this age group will open at St. Patrick's Institution in the near future. This unit, which was designed by a multi-disciplinary team, will include a custom-designed facility for the delivery of education, recreation, medical and therapeutic services. The longer-term provision of a dedicated facility on a greenfield site for 110 juveniles – 90 male and 20 female – is also being considered. Having considered a report by the Commissioners of Public Works and the recommendations made and having conferred with the director general of the Irish Prison Service, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform decided some time ago that the proposed development of such a facility at Newlands Villa, Naas Road, Clondalkin, Dublin 22, would not now proceed. The identification of another site for the proposed juvenile detention facility is now being pursued in consultation with the director general of the Irish Prison Service and the Office of Public Works.
