Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We need a more concrete commitment to when this report will be published. This process cannot go on indefinitely. I ask the Minister, if she can, to give a more specific indication of when it will be published.

The cessation from 30 March onward of the practice of putting persons under the age of 18, whether on remand or on committal, in adult prisons was a welcome development. It is a very welcome step. In the context of issues in regard to facilities and buildings in Oberstown, we need to know that everything is in place to allow that cessation to happen. Mercifully, the current number of detainees in Oberstown is lower than it was several months ago. It has fallen from the mid-30s to the mid-20s. If that number were to change and were there to be a full cohort of 17 year olds in the facility, all units would have to be open to ensure that the facility could work to the best of its ability. Can the Minister ensure that all units will be open as soon as possible and all required resources will be available to Oberstown to ensure that this additional cohort and all children in such a situation are kept and educated in Oberstown and that the facility is capable of doing so?

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