Tony Kett (Fianna Fail)

I appreciate that many of them have had a poor upbringing, have suffered abuse and violence in the home and have been seriously neglected. Such abuse was probably never adequately addressed in some instances or recognised in other instances. The parents cannot crawl out from under the rock in this regard. While education has a major role to play in such cases, a fog seems to drift over other young boys who attend secondary school after consuming alcohol at night and then become hooligans.

The majority of the young people engaged in such crime probably left school with no qualification and some of them may be illiterate. We must rescue them at the earliest possible time from engaging in such behaviour. We need to get them off the streets into an educational environment, in a prison if necessay. In most cases it probably would be the place to provide for them. It is not good enough simply to log their crimes and let them back on the street. The courts are a major player in regard to such cases. Something must be done to alleviate the stress and anxiety caused to people by such criminal behaviour. It may be minor, and to a large extent it is, but it is major to the individual who suffers it.

Many of these young people have a low level of education. I would say that many of the young people in St. Patrick's Institution are categorised universally as such. The system has failed them and, consequently, they have failed to achieve. Given the importance of education for the future of these young people, under rehabilitation programmes priority must be given to make up to them for what they have lost by giving them training and educational opportunities that will help them present better for jobs.