Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

The Deputy has asked a number of questions and I will try to answer them in the time available to me. An expert group was established to plan for the redevelopment of the existing school facilities and the development of new facilities for older children. I am sure the Deputy is aware that some of the buildings at Oberstown require refurbishment, which is the first priority. I understand that the planning process is under way for the refurbishment. The group submitted a progress report in December 2006 and is due to submit its final report by the end of this year. It is considering a range of options, one of which is to locate all the facilities on the existing Lusk site where three of the existing schools are located and another is to consider working on the two sites. Sufficient space is available on lands already owned by the State to accommodate these developments. For that reason I want to put on the record of the House that there are no plans to acquire additional lands in the Lusk area for any further developments, contrary to a recent media report.

The Deputy also mentioned Thornton Hall. The proposed development of a juvenile facility on the Thornton Hall site predated the Government decision to establish the Irish youth justice service and to extend the children detention school model to all children under the age of 18 years. The provision of this facility at Thornton Hall will be a temporary measure only, allowing for the earliest possible closure of St. Patrick's Institution. The development of new children detention school facilities to provide for 16 and 17 year old boys is already in the planning stages within the Irish youth justice service. While these new facilities may not be completed as quickly as Thornton Hall, they will not be in any way delayed or postponed as a result of that development. The Irish youth justice service is committed to delivering dedicated children detention school facilities for all children under the age of 18 entirely separate from any Prison Service locations as quickly as possible.

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