Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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654. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs in view of recently expressed opinions by the judiciary regarding lack of detention facilities for young offenders, the action she has taken to rectify this since this was highlighted; and if she will provide a clear timeframe for when this problem will be solved in the short term. [36654/13]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The legal detention capacity of the Children's Detention School on the Oberstown campus comprises 24 male bed spaces in Trinity House School, 8 female bed spaces in Oberstown Girls School, and 20 male bed spaces in Oberstown Boys School. However, only 16 of the certified 24 male bed spaces in Trinity House School are currently available for use due to staffing shortages. The Irish Youth Justice Service, which is based in my Department, is currently in discussions with management, staff and unions on the Oberstown campus on initiatives to reconfigure the detention places and staff resources, in order to address the increased demand for male bed places from the courts. This is being progressed so as to achieve its earliest possible solution. The issue is complex and it is not possible to provide a more definitive timeframe at this stage.

I have also noted a substantial increase in demand for male bed spaces on the Oberstown campus in 2013 compared to 2012. This has been primarily but not exclusively driven by an increase in the number of boys aged 16 years old on admission detained in Oberstown. The Irish Youth Justice Service has identified a trend since late 2012 of a higher number of such children being detained in Oberstown compared to the situation which applied when this age group was the responsibility of St Patrick’s Institution. This increase in demand from the courts merits further consideration, particularly since the Central Statistics Office has recently recorded a general reduction in crime trends overall in the community.