Mary Henry (Independent)

I welcome the Minister of State and his continued interest in all issues relating to children. I compliment the Labour Party on proposing this motion on juvenile crime, which is an issue we neglect at our peril. It is frequently the case that young people who come before the courts as adults have been involved in crime for a considerable portion of their short lives. They may be involved in crime because they live in vulnerable circumstances or because they have some intrinsic problems. The Government amendment praises the work of the Special Residential Services Board, which was introduced under Part 11 of the Children Act 2001. I would like to highlight what the board says about its objectives on its website:

Children who are non-offending but who have severe emotional and behavioural problems have been coming before the courts and have been the focus of much public attention. There is an urgent need to develop the capacity of existing residential services to deal more effectively with the emotional and psychological needs of children who have suffered considerable trauma and who may be behaviourally challenging. This will require more investment in staff training. There is continuing public concern with regard to youth offending and a need to address systemically the origins, nature and consequences of youth crime. Significant additional resources are required to implement the Act, particularly by the juvenile justice system for the provision of facilities, a wide range of care and support services and for the implementation of community sanctions. In the long term, the most effective approach is to build on the prevention and early intervention mechanisms already developed to ensure that children in difficulty can be identified early and a range of family supports provided so that emerging problems are tackled before they escalate.

We all consider it to be important and essential that such resources and supports are put in place.

I remind the Minister of State, as I have reminded numerous Ministers, that this country suffers from a serious lack of child psychiatrists and child psychologists. According to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Ireland was one of the first countries to sign, children's mental health is a human right. However, some 2,000 children in this country are waiting to be seen by psychiatrists. It is estimated that 120 child psychiatrists are needed in this country, but we have just 45. As far as I know, we have no vacant places, unless some places have become available in recent weeks. As the Special Residential Services Board has pointed out, many Irish children have serious behavioural problems. That might be why many of them get involved in crime in the first place.

I would like to discuss the results of a recent survey conducted in Clonmel. I doubt that Clonmel is any different from any other urban or rural part of Ireland. The survey indicated that 20% of children either have behavioural problems or difficulties associated with mental illness, or will develop such problems before they reach adulthood. Such children, who suffer from depression, for example, or are at risk of suicide, are not getting the medical help they need. It is not good that people over the age of 16 are being inappropriately dealt with in adult institutions. People in their late teens may develop serious mental problems, such as schizophrenia, which can lead them to get involved in crime. The earlier one begins to offer treatment for such problems, the better. It is unfortunate that early diagnosis and treatment are being neglected.

We hear all the time that the psychological services available to the courts are totally inadequate. Children who are non-offenders are sent to detention units or, in some cases, to adult prisons or adult psychiatric services because not enough secure units are available for young people. I appreciate that it can be difficult to put such units in place, but we have to do so. I have been saying for ten years that just 20 beds — 14 in the west and six in Dublin — are available for psychiatrically ill children, but there has been no increase in the level of provision.

We have to consider the circumstances of children which lead to them coming before the courts. Every speaker so far has mentioned early intervention. I am sure the Minister will do likewise because it is a terribly important aspect of the matter. The National Educational Psychological Service badly needs to be expanded, particularly if it is trying to deal with conditions like attention deficit disorder. I am delighted that Senator Ormonde is present for this debate. We are aware that children who start to get into trouble in school often then start to get into trouble in the community. Problems in schools need to be addressed at a very early stage before they start to get worse.

Several Senators have spoken about the importance of games. The motion before the House mentions the need for "long-term, ongoing and guaranteed investment in educational and work programmes specifically aimed at children". Why is it not possible to ensure that games are taught on a broader basis in primary schools? I recently had the benefit of reading an article by Ms Mary O'Hanlon, who is the deputy principal of the Holy Family senior national school in River Valley in Swords. In the article, Ms O'Hanlon quoted from a report produced for the European Commission's year of education through sport in 2004. The report stated that lessons and games help children to learn "to repudiate violence and destructive behaviour; to live and make decisions with justice and honesty; to respect differences in gender, race, beliefs, etc., accepting others with their own characteristics and peculiarities; to be tolerant; and to acquire attitudes leading to integration and harmony".

Although I was absolutely hopeless at games in school, I remember that they were a great diversion. My mother was a great believer in having us out playing all day because she reckoned that exhausted children do not get into trouble. We need to place a stronger emphasis on trying to get more primary school children involved in games. I am aware that the various sporting organisations are doing some good work. We need to ensure that the education of children does not just focus on getting them involved in games as a means of ensuring they become physically better — it is also a means of ensuring they develop emotionally and socially so that they are better able to integrate with society, which is very important.

Perhaps the Minister of State can speak later in this debate about the reporting of family law cases. Such reporting was not allowed for a long time, of course, because of the in camera rule. I had hoped for more reporting of such cases, on an anonymous basis, after a barrister was selected to produce such reports, with the agreement of those before the courts. Reports of family law cases might give us a better sense of the real difficulties encountered by some families and a better idea of how we might address such problems.

The Minister of State knows he has the support of all sides of the House in trying to do something about this issue. It was interesting to read the reports from Paris, where there has been a great deal of destruction in recent weeks. Police there say the main problem was posed by those under 14 years of age. The curfew in the city has been imposed on those under 16. A considerable portion of the destruction was caused by juveniles rather than those aged between 20 and 25 years. We must examine this issue because it is important. When one sees how out of control the situation can get, we must ensure that such a scenario never happens here.