Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

In March 2008, the Government approved the development of new national children detention facilities on the Oberstown campus near Lusk, County Dublin. The Government decision was informed by the report of the expert group on children detention schools, which is available on www.iyjs.ie.

The development will increase the accommodation capacity in the detention school service from 77 to 167 places and will be required to be carried out in phases to ensure the existing facilities continue to operate and make detention places available to the courts until the new accommodation is available. There are already three detention schools on the site and the proposed development will involve the demolition of some existing buildings on site and the retention of others but will consist mainly of newly constructed facilities. The timeframe for the construction period will be kept under review and will be influenced by the detailed information from the design team and the market conditions for the construction sector.

Planning for the development is under way and the appointment of a design team will be made shortly. The team will be required to advise on architectural, construction and engineering matters, to deliver high quality designs and to manage the construction of modern, state-of-the-art facilities. The design team will include, but is not limited to, expertise in architecture, construction project management, planning, health and safety, fire safety, cost estimation and control, and engineering and building services.

After the design of the new facilities has been completed during 2009, a tendering process will be undertaken to progress the construction element of the project, the first phase of which is estimated for completion in 2012. This will provide 80 places to accommodate 16 and 17 year old boys in order to remove this age group from St. Patrick's Institution and to facilitate the transfer of boys from the existing Oberstown boys school buildings.

The second phase, which is envisaged for completion in 2014, will entail the demolition of the buildings currently housing Oberstown boys school and the long-term unit of Oberstown girls school, as well as several other buildings. This phase will also involve the construction of facilities for 57 young people. Some of the existing buildings, including Trinity House school, will be retained, providing a total of 167 places when both stages of the project are completed. With the completion of each phase of this development, the children detention schools will provide excellent accommodation and facilities which will facilitate the rehabilitation of youths sent there by the courts.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

The project is being overseen by the Irish youth justice service, IYJS, an executive office in the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, which has responsibility for a wide range of youth justice matters, including the children detention schools. Advice and supports for this project are being provided to the IYJS from several sources, including the Office of Public Works and the National Development Finance Agency. In preparing for the development, in line with Department of Finance guidelines for capital projects and with good practice, the IYJS will establish a project board to ensure robust governance and accountability are in place. The board will report directly to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform.

The cost of the project will be met from national development plan and Exchequer sources. I am pleased to report that the Government has made adequate capital provision in the 2009 Estimates to progress this project.

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