Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak in this urgent and important debate on the Children (Amendment) Bill 2015. I warmly welcome the debate because the protection of children, including those in detention, is a major issue for Irish society, particularly if we want a fairer and just society. It is also linked closely with the equality issue and total respect for the rights of all children. When we hear all the talk about recovery, my agenda is always fair recovery built on social justice; otherwise it is just hollow.

When dealing with the issue of detention, we need to look in depth at poverty, educational disadvantage, dysfunctional families, violent families, alcohol and drug-fuelled families. They are also key in this debate and on the future of people in detention. The children of the families in question are often the ones who turn up in prisons and detention centres. We need to face these realities. Ignoring these factors leads to a flawed analysis of why so many children end up in detention. This is something we often fail to do. There is also a stronger link. Children who come from violent and dysfunctional families are often the ones who are hurt and damaged between the ages of two and four years. The damage has already been done and the seeds sown. They are often the children who end up in detention. I will deal with these issues in more detail.

The Children (Amendment) Bill allows for the three children detention schools in Ireland to be managed on an integrated basis, which I welcome. The Bill also allows for the amalgamation or closure of a children detention school. It looks at the issue of remission for children in detention following a 2013 High Court decision, as well as disciplinary procedures and sanctions in children detention centres. In discussing legislation we need to carry out an in-depth analysis. We also need to focus on children living in poverty and dysfunctional families. Some 138,000 children are living in poverty. The level of consistent poverty has increased from 6.8% in 2008 to 11.7% today. Some 37,000 children will be living in poverty in 2020. A total of 1,054 children are homeless. These are not out-of-control figures but ones we can target. It is up to the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs to focus on these issues.

One of my colleagues spoke about prevention, a very important word when dealing with this issue.

The Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality, of which Deputy Stanton and I are members, is currently examining the affects on communities of gangland crime. It is also examining, and has received submissions on, the impact of this on children. The sad reality is that children are being used by criminal gangs to transport drugs and carry out criminal acts. There is also massive intimidation of residents in some areas, with many families and children being forced out of their homes, many of which are burned down. We regularly see on our television screens reports of shootings relating to gangland killings related, in the main, to the pursuit of drug debts. If a person owes €1,000 or €1,500, it can cost him or her their life. One can only imagine the impact of this on those children and how it will affect them into the future. It is important in the context of our analysis of this legislation today that we focus on these types of issues.

We also need to up our game in regard to the exploitation of children by modern society. We must protect children and ensure they can live out their childhoods and are not pushed into adolescence too quickly by modern society. Sadly, this is not the case. Last night I attended a public meeting in my constituency in regard to the proposed location of a sex shop across the road from a local primary school in Drumcondra. Many parents are concerned about this proposal and the increasing early sexualisation of children. I raise this issue in the context of exploitation of children. While the opening of this shop is not in contravention of existing planning laws, many people believe it is abhorrent that a retail unit of this nature can be sited at the end of a residential street and within view of a primary school. This issue requires urgent assessment of the current planning laws that allow adult shops to be classified in the same way as any other retail outlet and allows for the location of such shops in residential areas. The location of a sex shop across the road from a national school is unacceptable. Young children will have to pass this shop on the way to school or on the way to the local playground. Many parents are concerned that sexualisation of children is now happening at a very young age. This issue is linked to the debate on the exploitation of children, which leads to children being hurt and damaged into the future.

I welcome this legislation and believe it is a positive development. It provides for the amalgamation of the three children detention schools into one entity and underpins the legal authority of the campus manager. It will also allow for coherence in the direction and consistency of practices between the three children detention schools. This amending Bill is vital to the successful integration of the three schools. The removal of references to St. Patrick's institution are also welcome. However, it is also vital to reiterate the principle that detention, including detention on remand, is a last resort for children and must never be used for care or welfare purposes. It is important to stress that detention should always be a last resort. This is a clear requirement of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and is reflected in sections 88(10) and 96 of the Children Act 2001, as amended. It is important we also focus on these issues.

Further, while the children detention schools are annually inspected by HIQA, the standards and criteria for children detention schools were issued in 2004, adopted in 2008 but have not been revised since. Many people, including the Irish Penal Reform Trust, have recommended that these standards be reviewed to ensure they adhere to current best practice. These are important issues to highlight in the context of debate on this Bill.

In regard to the integrated campus, staff of children detention schools have raised concerns about the proposal to integrate 17 year old boys into the Oberstown school. A 2012 report from the Irish Youth Justice Service outlined some of these concerns and responses from the management. Sections 4 and 5, which relate to the extension of the relationship model of child care to all children under 18 years of age, was supported by the Irish Youth Justice Service and acknowledged as positive by the staff. The single bedroom occupancy concept is supported by most people, particularly the Irish Youth Justice Service. However, concern was expressed that the relationship model in the children detention schools could be changed or diluted as older boys came on stream. Some staff believe that the increased number of 17 year olds could take up a lot of available resources, to the detriment of younger children.

As I said, I welcome this legislation. I ask the Minister to focus on the issues I have raised. We need to focus on early intervention and to push this agenda and hammer it home. In regard to the 138,000 children living in poverty, this issue must be prioritised in the context of the budget. In seeking to prioritise it, the Minister will have my support and that of many Members of this House. We need to face the reality in terms of the need to tackle educational disadvantage and poverty issues. If we do not intervene earlier to address the issue of dysfunctional, violent families, we cannot expect four or five year olds from those families to have a normal childhood. That is never going to happen. Children from these families will end up in the detention centres about which we are now speaking if we do not intervene earlier to address their needs.

I welcome this legislation which, as I said, is a positive development.

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