Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

Senator Ulick Burke referred to the position of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. Under the Children Act 1908, boys under 16 and girls under 17 are committed to the Department of Education and Science when they are convicted of offences and, therefore, the only children for whom the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform has responsibility are male offenders aged 16 or 17 and females offenders aged 17. The number of female offenders is small.

The major difficulty in the implementation of the Children Act has been the issue of whether the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform should provide a dedicated facility for 16 and 17 year old females. The scheme envisaged under the Act was that all offenders under 16 years would be the responsibility of the Department of Education and Science and 16 and 17 year olds would be the responsibility of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform.

The vast majority of juvenile offenders are detained by the Prison Service at St. Patrick's Institution on behalf of the Department. A number of them are held in other institutions for geographical reasons. I have arranged for a substantial teaching allocation for the new wing of St. Patrick's Institution which has yet to open. I appreciate the Senator's concern about this issue. There was always good educational provision in the industrial and reformatory schools. They will become child detention schools under the Children Act and the Department of Education and Science has always taken its responsibility seriously in this regard. Teachers in these institutions are part of the national school system, although the children are a little older than the national school age.

The education of male offenders aged 16 and 17 is the responsibility of the vocational education committee where the penal institution is located. I am glad there have been improvements in this area. I appreciate the Senator's concern that their needs are not always at the top of the education queue. The Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform has begun to address its responsibilities in this area in recent years.

Senator Cox asked me to communicate the issue she raised to the Minister and I will do so. However, with regard to children who do not attend school in their final year, their right to an assessment is provided for in the legislation. That child is not in the care of a principal at a particular school but the right is enshrined in the legislation. Under section 15, the child has the right to a plan for his or her future educational needs. That right is not dependent on the existence of a principal or attendance at a school.

However, Senator Cox referred to the case of a child who does not undergo an assessment that year. That must be dealt with under the disability legislation because the person will be aged over 18 by the time the right to an assessment arises. The disability Bill will determine that issue in terms of an independent right to an assessment by the health authorities. This relates to the interdepartmental division of responsibilities. I assure the Senator the issue will be addressed in the disability legislation and that is as far as I can go. Where the child has passed the age of 18, the independent right of assessment will be in the hands of the health authorities.

The Minister for Education and Science and his officials have thought through the rights that need to be provided in the education system. I accept if joined up thinking is to succeed in this area, other Departments must co-operate through a clear statutory framework with the Department of Education and Science. The difficulty with the disability Bill is achieving interdepartmental co-operation and joined up thinking between the Departments. I am Minister of State at three Departments and while, happily, I do not have charge of financial decisions, I can see at one remove the need for greater joined up thinking between these Departments. The Department of Education and Science has gone a long way in this legislation. It is ahead of the pack and it has also provided for continuity. It is up to the other Departments to bring forward legislation that will lock in with this measure.