Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)

I appreciate the presence of the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government but I am a little concerned that the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, is not taking this matter and I would like to hear his views. I hope Deputy Gormley will engage with some of the questions I am posing and respond to them and not just read a prepared script.

We are all aware of the growing problem of juvenile crime and of the many communities which are plagued by anti-social activities some of which can be very serious and is often engaged in by people under the age of 18 as well as over the age of 18. Yesterday in this House my party leader, Deputy Gilmore, raised the issue of the closure of the Shanganagh facility and called for it to be reopened, given the demand that exists for places. It is very frustrating for public representatives, gardaí and communities that there is an insufficient number of detention places for young offenders. Many of us are familiar with the situation in which one is aware of particular individuals in our communities who are wreaking havoc on their neighbours and against whom there may be dozens of charges yet they are left to strut around their communities because the justice system cannot accommodate them.

Against this background it is of particular concern that there are plans to close the excellent facility of the Finglas Child and Adolescent Centre. Over the past 37 years this centre has provided excellent service to the courts, the youth justice service and previously to the Department of Education and Science in the area of child care and assessments. One has to ask what is being put in its place.

The centre has at times looked after very disturbed children who could not be cared for by any other statutory agency. Its record is outstanding and has been complimented many times by the Judiciary. It was inspected by the social service inspectorate of HIQA and received glowing reports as one of the best run detention schools in the country, having managed to achieve the correct balance of detention and child care.

The report of the working group appointed by the Irish Youth Justice Service recommends that further work be carried out over the next three years until the new development at Oberstown is complete to identify and develop the appropriate range of assessment services for detained children in the new facility at Oberstown and for all other young people, offending or non-offending, in the community. It also recommends that the Finglas centre will need to continue in operation until such time as the remand, assessment and committal services currently provided there can be provided at Oberstown.

What plans are in place for the orderly transfer of the services of the Finglas Child and Adolescent Centre to the Oberstown campus, which now appears to be imminent? Under the present management of the director, Colette Walsh, the staff of the Finglas centre are recognised as some to the best qualified to care and assess children. The report of the working group states:

The Working Group recognises that the staff in FCAC have a wealth of experience and expertise in child care, managing behavioural problems, delivering offending behaviour programmes and in particular, in carrying out assessments. They represent a significant number of well trained and well qualified people in whom the State have invested heavily and who have invested their time and commitment in working with challenging and difficult young people. It is vital that the youth justice and child care services do not lose this expertise.

How then does the Minister hope to keep this staff in the service, as recommended by the working group? There are currently 21 staff with fixed term contacts. Are these contracts to be renewed on 30 September 2009? Will all the current full-time staff be accommodated on the Oberstown campus? Are there arrangements to allow current full-time staff to avail of early retirement so the people on short-term contracts can take up those posts and the expertise will not be lost? In the area of child care, are the children on assessment to be accommodated separately on the Oberstown campus, as required by law and best practice and as recommended by the working group? Will the Minister say how many child care places for young offenders will be available in the State? The indications are that there are currently only about 50 places while the recommended number is 167. These are critical issues for tackling crime which both the Minister and I experience in our constituencies. Unless we have the accommodation to provide adequate assessment and remand places for young offenders we will lose the battle against crime.

I would welcome the Minister's replies to those questions.

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