Mr. Gordon Jeyes:

There are eight young people abroad. One went to Nebraska during my time, against the advice of the HSE. We did not feel it would work and it did not. The seven placed in England all have a mental health provenance. I have had discussions on working more clearly with expanding mental health provision in this country. It is not just our bit that is in need of expansion. Special care relates to circumstances in which a young person is deprived of liberties and it should only be taken in extreme circumstances.

The average waiting time to get a place is very low - it is a number of days - despite cases flaring up. I take the Deputy's point about the two going elsewhere. It is important that we would only wish to deprive a young person of their liberty when it is absolutely necessary. The number of special care places and the specialisms associated with them will be enhanced. For example, there is a very good high-support unit in Crannóg Nua that will have a special care facility, with planning permission agreed last week.

I must be very careful in my leadership of this because I do not want to create a position where the idea is that we will fill it if it is built. We need to keep the idea pretty tight. There is a difficulty where hard-pressed communities, families or social workers need respite from trying to work in a community and family scenario with a young person. We need to consider the number of times we examine cases where the issue is something else, such as drugs and associated criminal behaviour. I would support, in due course, parallel tracks of special care and detention schools blending so that they could merge. I would like to be in charge of both. Ireland has, for all of those under 18, one system dealing with the needs of the young people and their deeds, rather than separate systems. There are plans and I would be happy to provide detail on those if required.

Legal costs are spiralling out of control. Legal services are run as part of the corporate HSE. There was a response, met with some success, that regarded previous management difficulties. It was an error to centralise budgets, as we all like spending somebody else's money. Within the HSE, legal service users authorise work but the budget is held centrally. Once we have sorted the clarity of the budget - and not before - I will have legal services within the children's agency.