Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

When the remit of the Ombudsman was being extended last year, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs and the Ombudsman for Children sought to have the remit of the Ombudsman for Children extended in a similar manner. Accordingly, the Ombudsman (Amendment) Act 2012 amended the Ombudsman for Children Act 2002 to align the remits of the two Ombudsmen over public bodies. The Ombudsman's remit has always excluded the administration of prisons or other places for the custody of persons committed to custody by the courts. There was a similar exclusion in the Ombudsman for Children Act 2002, other than for reformatory schools and industrial schools certified under Part IV of the Children Act 1908. This exclusion of places of detention was maintained in the Ombudsman (Amendment) Act 2012. The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs made an order with effect from 1 July 2012 which removed the exclusion which had previously prevented the Ombudsman for Children from dealing with children in any institution in which children were held in custody or detention. It was considered at the time that the subsequent Ombudsman (Amendment) Act 2012 would have no impact on this order. However, following concerns expressed by the Ombudsman for Children on the issue earlier this year and subsequent advice from the Attorney General on this highly complex legal matter, it is now evident that the amendments made in the Ombudsman (Amendment) Act 2012 had the unintended consequence of, again, precluding the Ombudsman for Children from dealing with complaints relating to children held in custody or detention. Under section 4(10) of the Ombudsman Act 1980, as amended by section 6 of the 2012 Act, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform has the power to make an order to make an agency a reviewable agency at the request of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, with the consent of the Minister for Justice and Equality, is proposing to make such an order in order that the Ombudsman for Children can investigate complaints concerning children in custody or detention. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform has laid a draft order before the Houses of the Oireachtas and is bringing a motion to both Houses seeking a positive resolution with a view to the order being passed as quickly as possible.

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