Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The main purpose of the proposed legislation is to enable the amalgamation of the three children detention schools in Oberstown, Lusk, County Dublin, and to provide for the necessary legal changes required to end the detention of children in adult detention facilities. I am concerned to read of the report on Oberstown by HIQA, particularly the fact that it found that it was not always safe for children and that nine out of the ten of the areas assessed were not up to standard. I am glad these issues are being addressed, but it appears there are still some staff issues.

It is clear that we need to look at other ways of reducing the prison population, especially among our youth, and to provide more investment for areas such as mental health. In Germany and the Netherlands, 18 to 21 year olds can be treated either as juveniles or as adults depending on the seriousness of the crime, the circumstances in which it was committed or the personality of the defendant. In Scandinavian countries, sentence lengths are systematically reduced for young adults. There is much merit in this general principle.

I realise that Oberstown offers some training to children, but should the training be made a bigger part of the service? Germany places a big emphasis on vocational training for children in custody, and perhaps we can learn from this model. While Oberstown obviously has specialised teachers, other countries are moving towards the idea of getting what could be termed mainstream teachers involved in the process of boosting levels of education. The aim is for children to come out of the facility more rounded and more educated, and adopting such an approach could help achieve this goal. I would be interested to hear the Minister's thoughts in this area.

I was interested to read in the general scheme of the Bill that it would allow the Minister to prescribe limits for the disciplining of children detained in child detention schools and that certain forms of discipline would be prohibited, specifically corporal punishment or any other form of physical violence, deprivation of food or drinks, treatment that could reasonably be expected to be detrimental to physical, psychological or emotional well-being, and treatment that is cruel, inhuman or degrading. I would like to be hear from the Minister why these provisions need to be included in the Bill. Surely such discipline is already prohibited, or is there some technicality allowing it for children in detention facilities? That is a technical question, but I would be grateful for the answer. I apologise that I will not be in a position to be present when the Minister replies, but I will certainly check the record. I thank him for any attention he can give the issue, and I would be pleased if he could provide clarification on that matter.