Ms Michelle Martyn:

The Irish Penal Reform Trust makes a case for young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 years. It is based on our research for the report in 2015 around young adults in the criminal justice system. The reasons arise from the scientific evidence that shows the brain and maturity continue to develop beyond adolescence and into a person's 20s. Socioeconomic factors have also been highlighted as placing young adults at higher risk of offending. Research in the United Kingdom has highlighted how young men between the ages of 15 and 23 years were more likely to sustain a brain injury than any other group. The national children and young people's framework of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs goes up to the age of 24 years. In line with that we are calling for the age to be up to 24 years. There are special provisions for young adults in 20 of 35 other European countries. Some go up to the age of 25 years, including Sweden and Netherlands. It is more a question of maturity rather than age that should be considered.