Lynn Ruane (Independent)
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I return to the aspect of young adults and society. A reason I am so interested in the matter is, as I have written publicly, I was a young offender and it is only because of societal interventions that I am where I am. It is because people ignored the Garda vetting process to give me employment at a young age in the area of addiction. At home I have a shoebox full of letters from young men, from the age of 12 years when they were in the Oberstown centre, young adults in St. Patrick's Institution and later in Mountjoy Prison. They have been my friends since we were kids. There is a pattern in their letters that when they are released, they will return to school, get a job, join Youthreach and stop using drugs. Something happens between institution and agency, when an individual returns to his or her community without the societal supports about which Mr. Walsh and Senator Black spoke in respect of addiction, homelessness, poverty and so on. There is an onus on us to examine that age group, 18 to 24 year olds especially, to carve out a space for them in the legislation. A large number of additional supports are needed. If I had not been caught and provided with the supports I was at 17 or 18 years of age, I do not know in what position I would be. I do not doubt that I could have ended up in the prison system. The section that relates to 18 to 24 year olds is very important in the legislation and any policy we look for on the rehabilitation of young offenders especially.