Anne Rabbitte (Fianna Fail)

That second chance is the most important thing. It cannot happen if all the other milestones have to be achieved first.

The last person who benefited is the offender who might need the opportunity for what we see in the wonderful work of the youth diversion programme. I thank them for that.

I do not know who can answer me on Oberstown. I have a keen interest in Oberstown. I absolutely agree with Mr. Egan that they do phenomenal work in Oberstown but I do not know if it is the solution for everybody. At the same time, if we extend the age to 24, then we will have the younger and the not-so-young in the one environment. Is that the right environment? We should be looking to give every opportunity through the youth diversion programmes first. Of course, there are more serious crimes that Oberstown has a complete function for, and I acknowledge that.

I suppose this is for Ms Brady. Are there better ways of supporting young people than just needing everything to go to Oberstown? That is not taking away from the work that is being done in Oberstown.