Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)

I am glad the Minister of State has acknowledged that quite a lot remains to be done. There is a long way to go before all sections of the Act are implemented. It is the old question of resources yet again. The necessary resources must be provided to ensure its implementation. The question of resources is always raised by the Government but we are told at the same time that the country is awash with money. However, time after time, Ministers and others tell the House that if the resources were available, they could do X, Y and Z.

For my sins I was a member of a school attendance committee for approximately 20 years. It was often very sad to come across cases where children who were not attending school were put through the courts system. Many of these children were from very underprivileged families. Their parents were unable to look after themselves, let alone the children. It was very sad to see those children being put into reformatory schools. It is a pity that early intervention was not available then because that is what was required. An interagency approach was needed. As the Minister of State said, that approach is gradually coming on stream with the health boards becoming more involved, but there is still a long way to go.

A number of sections of the Act which could play a role in early intervention have not been commenced. The Minister of State mentioned some of these sections. With reference to the area of community sanctions, he said a pilot project would begin in 2005 and that is to be welcomed. It could act as an alternative sanction to custody and would play a significant role in ensuring that children break the cycle of offending. The Minister, Deputy McDowell, gave some indication that these sanctions would come into play in mid-2004. The Minister of State stated they might be introduced in mid-2005. At least a pilot project is promised for 2005 and that is to be welcomed. I am glad it will happen because of availability of resources.

Another significant part of the Act which has not commenced deals with the area of criminal responsibility to which the Minister of State alluded in his contribution. The age of criminal responsibility is to be raised from seven to 12 years. When is it proposed to take action in this area? I realise the difficulties involved in transferring responsibilities from one Department to another and from the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform to the health boards. I suggest that something be done as soon as possible in order to make progress. Nothing seems to have happened to date.

On the subject of detention schools for children between the ages of 12 and 16, the aim of which is to reintegrate back into society the children referred to them, this is to be done mainly through the provision of appropriate educational and training programmes and facilities. What progress, if any, has been made in this area which is critical to the whole concept of early intervention?

Last year, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy McDowell, expressed concern about the problem of the delay between detection and trial, particularly in the case of juvenile offenders and that the current pattern of delay fundamentally undermined the capacity of the system as a whole to respond effectively to crime and to its deterrence. Not only does the delay lessen the chances of conviction and increase the overall costs to the State, it also blurs for the offender the necessary link between the offence and the resulting sentence. More critically, it will hold back any targeted intervention in terms of sentence.

Addressing this problem of persistent young offenders by reducing the delays in the system became a British Government target after the 1997 general election. A pledge to halve the time between the arrest and sentencing for persistent young offenders was achieved in 2001. It has been sustained for the past three years. The key to delivering this has been interagency co-operation which has been developed at national and local level in the UK. I suggest we can learn from our neighbours. Rather than the Minister expressing concern, he should act decisively at this stage and deal with the problem of delays between detection and trial, as was effectively achieved across the water.