Mary Henry (Independent)

I join in the praise of the Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister for their patience in dealing with the parties in Northern Ireland. I visited the North this week and witnessed the incredible changes. It would be dreadful if the process went backwards and a debate on the issues would be useful.

Will the Leader ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to come to the House to address the lack of facilities for children who come before the courts? This is a serious problem and various judges have tried to illustrate the difficulties in arranging a safe place for children who appear before the courts on criminal charges. Today's newspapers report on a case where the staff of a centre pleaded with the judge not to send a girl to them but he said he had to because there was no other place to send the girl who was on remand. Many Members will recall the effort Judge Hubert Wine put into bringing to the attention of the Department of Justice the dreadful lack of such facilities. The Minister should come to the House to outline the current position and explain why there is such a scarcity of suitable places after all these years.