Mr. Seán Egan:

The way to address the criminogenic factors in the community is by addressing income inequality, the gaps in youth services and these kinds of things. I know the Government has drafted legislation to criminalise this behaviour of grooming children into criminality. That is an important aspect too. I certainly believe that just because an individual might come from a deprived background, and there are criminogenic factors when they are on the outside, does not mean we can ignore the fact that there are these criminogenic factors related to detention in the first instance. It is obviously a very complicated situation. Multiple things need to happen at once. I certainly think that we need to be sceptical of the effects of detention. I am not saying it is not the right option in certain instances. The people working in Oberstown make absolutely heroic efforts and can make significant impacts on the lives of young people. It is also important, though, that the work is done in the community to reduce those factors that make it more likely that people in general and young people in particular engage in criminal behaviour.