Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 76: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs if he will provide details of consultations with the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform with regard to the development of treatment services for young offenders under the national drugs strategy; the position regarding those discussions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40977/08]

John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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Responsibility for the development of treatment services for young offenders, where required, in and out of the prison setting, falls to the Irish Youth Justice and Probation Services. These services come under the remit of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, but overarching responsibility for the development of appropriate services will lie with the office of the Minister of State with responsibility for children and youth affairs as responsibility for youth affairs is being transferred to that office.

Action 19 of the national drugs strategy focuses on early intervention with youth where early use of alcohol or drugs comes to the attention of the Garda. Where this occurs, intervention by the community police and-or the health and social services to address the individual's needs is appropriate. This action has been progressed through the work of the national drugs strategy team and the drugs task forces at the more local level. I understand from the Garda that, although considerable informal links are in place involving the statutory and voluntary service providers, there is a need to establish more formal procedures in this regard. This issue is being followed up by the Health Service Executive in the context of the findings of a report on services for under-18s, produced by that body under action 49 of the national drugs strategy. This measure focuses on the development and implementation of guidelines for treatment for under-18s. Guidelines are now in place and progress on their implementation has been made in some areas, but I understand they have yet to be implemented nationwide.

Under the national youth justice strategy 2008-10, the office of the Minister of State with responsibility for children and youth affairs is seeking to develop a number of pilot projects aimed at early identification and greater targeting of young people at risk of offending. That office is focused on developing earlier-stage case management through appropriate conferencing, in partnership with the Irish Youth Justice Service, the HSE, the National Educational Welfare Board and An Garda Síochána. It is intended that appropriate treatment services will be made available in cases where substance misuse is a factor contributing to the problems involved.

Under the Children's Act 2001, the young person's probation section, a division of the probation service, works with under-18s who come before the courts. The Act recognises that there is no single way of successfully dealing with the problems associated with youth offending and sees detention as the least favoured option. Therefore, it has shifted the emphasis away from residential-custodial care to care in the community. Under the Act, the young person's probation section utilises a number of graduated approaches across family conferences, community-based sanctions, parental supervision orders, probation reports, deferment of detention, detention and supervision, supervision after detention and voluntary aftercare to deal with offenders. Where substance misuse is a factor, appropriate treatment is made available, up to and including residential rehabilitation.

In the prison context, the Irish Prison Service drugs policy and strategy, Keeping Drugs Out of Prisons, includes a commitment to provide drug treatment options for those who need them. Progress is being made towards fulfilling that commitment, including the contracting of Merchants Quay Ireland, a voluntary sector organisation, to provide counselling services.

As the Deputy will be aware, my Department is in the process of developing a new national drugs strategy for the period 2009-16. The new strategy will continue to include measures aimed at trying to prevent young people from becoming involved with drugs, as well as treatment measures aimed at helping those who do develop problems.

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Harristown House, which cost €450,000 to run last year, treats up to 100 residents per annum and has a 65% success rate, in other words, two thirds of residents do not reoffend and stay sober. The facility has been operating for ten years and employs 20 staff. Did the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform contact the Minister of State, Deputy Curran, and, if so, did he explain the reason for the decision to close down this valuable facility?

As the Minister of State will be aware, according to the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, it costs €100,000 per annum to keep a young offender in prison, whereas Harristown House operated at an overall cost of €450,000 per annum. A number of reports have been published on this issue, including one entitled, Treating Addiction, Tackling Crime, which provided an excellent evaluation of Harristown House. Given that all the stakeholders, including the probation and welfare service and Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, were satisfied with the facility, why was it necessary to close it down?

John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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I appreciate that this is a matter of serious concern to Deputy Ring and the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Finneran, both of whom have raised it with me previously. To give the Deputy a straight answer, I was not aware in advance of the decision on Harristown House and, as I stated publicly, I was not contacted on the issue. While this concerned me somewhat, I do not want to rehearse a row other than to note that I have responsibility for the national drugs strategy on which the Government takes a partnership approach. As one of the key players, alongside the probation and welfare service and Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, I was not informed in advance of the decision to close the facility.

However, having said that, the decision was taken following a review of adult probation residential facilities carried out in 2007. It was not a random decision but the outcome of a process. Following the review, a number of recommendations and options emerged. The board of management, at its meeting of 25 September, made a recommendation to proceed with what was specifically referred to as Option Two. This was as follows:

Close down the facility, take time to reflect on the learning and develop a vision and a plan for a new way forward for Harristown House. There are HR and financial implications in doing this. Developing a clear vision for the future will require a precise set of steps and processes with a view to re-opening a new facility under the management of a competent strategic partner that is client centred, evidence based, effectively and efficiently managed and value for money. The benefit of this option is that Harristown House would be retained as a facility and transformed through learning, reflection and strategic planning into a superior service with clear vision and focus.

The closure arose as a result of a review of adult probation residential facilities carried out in 2007. The board of management of Harristown House chose an option involving the closure of the facility. However, the second aspect of this course of action was to proceed with closure with a view to having a new facility at Harristown.

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I and other Deputies from the west, including the Minister of State's party colleagues from County Roscommon and elsewhere, are concerned about the decision to close Harristown House. Of the 100 people treated in the facility last year, 65% did not reoffend. What will happen to the young people the centre treats? Will they become involved in crime or addicted to drugs again? How do the Minister of State and the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform plan to deal with these people?

It is wrong to close down this facility without proper consideration. Irrespective of the decision of the board of management, the problems in the facility should have been resolved before the decision had to be made. Young people in the west will be back on the streets, taking drugs and reoffending. What will happen to their educational needs? Some of those treated in Harristown House could not read or write. What action will be taken to re-open the centre?

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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The time for the question has expired.