James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Amendment No. 1 proposes to insert a new provision in section 88 of the existing Children Act, which deals with the remand of children in custody. The effect of the proposed amendment would be to impose a maximum period of remand in custody for a child of three months from the date of being remanded in custody by the court.

Section 88 of the Children Act allows that a court may remand a child in custody who is charged with or found guilty of an offence, who is being sent forward for trial or in respect of whom the court has postponed a decision. The section in question also provides that a court shall not remand a child in custody if the only reason for so doing is that the child is in need of care or protection or the court wishes Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, to assist in dealing with the case. In addition, section 76B of the existing Act provides for the involvement of Tusla in such cases as deemed necessary by the court.

As provided for in various District Court rules, a child may be remanded in custody in the Children Court for an initial period not exceeding eight days and subsequently for an individual period not exceeding 15 days. Children can be remanded in custody for successive periods within this framework but they are brought back before the court at regular intervals.

While there is no legislation governing the length of remand periods in the criminal Circuit Court for children, the right to an expeditious trial applies to every accused person irrespective of age. Section 100 of the current Act provides that where a court is satisfied as to the guilt of a child, it may remand a child in custody for the purpose of preparation of any necessary reports, but for not longer than 28 days, and this period may only be extended once by a maximum of 14 days.

It is also important to note that all children remanded in custody have access to independent legal assistance. Children remanded in custody can apply to a court to be remanded on bail at any time, and a refusal of bail can be appealed to the High Court in accordance with the Bail Act 1997.

The effect of the amendment, as drafted, would be to impose a maximum period of remand in custody of three months for all children. That would create a blunt rule which would apply in all cases relating to children in the criminal justice system, irrespective of the circumstances where remand in custody may be considered necessary by the courts. The creation of such an upper limit to apply in all cases would not be consistent with the operation of the existing safeguards in the courts system and would limit the scope for individual consideration of whether a child should be granted bail at any particular time. This is a matter best left to the Judiciary in individual cases.

I would be particularly concerned in relation to the application of the proposed amendment where very serious charges may be a factor in an individual case. One must also take into consideration the victim. For those reasons, I do not accept the amendment.