Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter which, I think, is a concern to everyone in this House and is a legacy none us can be proud of. The Minister, Deputy Shatter, informed the Cabinet on Tuesday of this matter and the report. We agreed instantly to his recommendation that it should be published immediately, which he did the following day. His statement is very extensive and it is available to Members of this House if they want to get the full chapter and verse in regard to an outrageous scandal and reflection on all elected persons in this House and elsewhere.

Some things have been done. Sixteen year olds are no longer being contained in St. Patrick's. I am pretty sure, although it is subject to confirmation, that some categories of 17 year olds will be transferred to the Oberstown campus before mid-2014 when all young people under the age of 18 will be detained on that site. We are moving to get everyone under the age of 18 out of the Mountjoy complex where St. Patrick's is located.

The other issue raised, the way in which the Ombudsman for Children was treated, reflects badly on aspects of the Department of Justice and Equality and the Prison Service. I can assure the Deputy that the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Fitzgerald, and the Minister, Deputy Shatter, are working closely to address immediately the issues he highlighted.

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