James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We all want the best outcomes for children. We do not want children to be detained unless it is absolutely essential. As Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, my focus is on children. As a politician, however, I, like the Deputy, have to take into consideration the victims. If a person who lost a loved one through manslaughter or murder saw the perpetrator get off on the basis of the technicality of three months being the law, there would be a very serious situation on our hands. I would hope that in practice there will be very short periods of detention for remand. The evidence points to the fact that we see it as the very last resort because so few people who are on remand are convicted because other methods are found to deal with their situation.

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