Ms Deirdre Malone:

We have to be careful with that issue. I note from the report by the Children's Rights Alliance that the Department of Children and Youth Affairs has stated it will consider withdrawing the reservation following the transfer of all 17 year olds to Oberstown in the third quarter of 2014. Clearly it is important that we do not remove a reservation without taking the practical steps to fulfil our obligation but maintaining the reservation indefinitely provides a timetable with no end in terms of meeting the obligations under the article. It is now time, 24 years later, to bring it to an end.