Ivana Bacik (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House to discuss this very positive Bill which has received a broad welcome across the House. It is very progressive legislation. It fulfils a Government commitment and also ensures that we will live up to the recommendations of numerous international reports referred to by Senators van Turnhout, Reilly and others as well as to the recommendations of the Irish Penal Reform Trust and the Inspector of Prisons in terms of the appalling conditions that persisted for a long time in St. Patrick's Institution for young offenders. The Bill is very welcome and I am glad it has been introduced in the Seanad. I thank the Minister in that regard.

The Bill has three key priorities, the first and most important of which is to deliver on the key programme for Government commitment to end the practice of sending children to St. Patrick's Institution. Second, it aims to provide a system of remission on an equal basis for children in children detention schools as for adults detained and, third, it aims to facilitate the amalgamation of schools and the achievement of greater efficiencies in children detention schools. The issue of the closure of St. Patrick's is of primary concern to us today and is the most progressive and important aspect of the Bill.

Clearly, the Bill must be read in conjunction with the prisons Bill, to which other Senators have referred. The general scheme of that Bill was published on 2 April and on 22 April members of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality heard from officials from the Department of Justice and Equality as to the content of the Bill and some of its practical implications. I wish to address this particular point because a key issue is the timeframe in terms of co-ordination between the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and the Department of Justice and Equality in order to ensure that both Bills pass through both Houses swiftly.

The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality was informed that the prisons Bill has the main purpose of facilitating complete closure of St. Patrick's Institution. We are all aware of the history of this issue. In 2012, responsibility for 16 year old boys remanded in custody or sentenced to detention was transferred from the Irish Prison Service to children detention schools at Oberstown. Construction on Oberstown started in 2013 and following reports by Judge Michael Reilly, the Inspector of Prisons, the Government decided in 2013 to completely close St. Patrick's Institution. We know that all sentenced 17 year old males who were previously in St. Patrick's Institution have now been transferred to a dedicated unit in Wheatfield place of detention pending the readiness of the new detention facilities being developed at Oberstown. We also know that all 18 to 20 year old males sentenced to detention have been transferred to a separate dedicated unit in Wheatfield. I understand that will remain the case for those aged 18 to 20, even after Oberstown comes on stream and after these Bills are passed. The Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality was greatly concerned to hear that there were still, as of Monday, 20 April, two 17 year old boys on remand in St. Patrick's Institution who remained there because they had been remanded prior to 30 March. I know the Minister made an order then allowing 17 year olds newly remanded in custody after 30 March to be committed to Oberstown but I understand that until this Bill, and particularly section 3, is enacted, it is not possible to transfer children remanded prior to 30 March from St. Patrick's Institution to another place of detention because the Children Act of 2001 does not permit it. Are those two 17 year old boys still on remand in St. Patrick's Institution or has that issue been dealt with now? Clearly that is a transitional question and I know that in section 3 of the Bill provision will be made for allowing for remands to remand centres as opposed to St. Patrick's Institution.

A number of issues were also raised about the timeframe for the completion of the new accommodation in Oberstown and when it was likely to be fully completed. We also had various questions which are probably not under the Minister's remit but are for the Minister for Justice and Equality in terms of the consequences for the building and what will happen to it. I understand that the facilities in St. Patrick's will be incorporated into the Mountjoy complex. That is a matter for the Minister for Justice and Equality. Questions also arise with regard to those 18 to 20 year olds who will continue to be detained in Wheatfield. Clearly, they are not within the remit of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs but these are people for whom particular issues of concern arise. They are a vulnerable population within the prison system. I was conscious of that on reading the report produced this week by the Irish Penal Reform Trust, Turnaround Youth, which deals with young adults aged 18 to 24 in the criminal justice system. That report makes a strong case for differential treatment of those young adults, albeit that they have reached adulthood, because they are a particularly vulnerable population who require some form of treatment that differentiates them from the more general adult prison population. Various issues arise with regard to particular risk factors for this age group, particularly for those who have a history of homelessness or drug and alcohol addiction. I understand that the Irish Prison Service will take cognisance of these particular issues but on a non-statutory basis.

Finally, I wish to address an issue raised by Senator Moloney a number of times, namely, rehabilitation and diversion of children from the criminal justice system. In common with everyone else, I absolutely agree that detention of children should be a measure of last resort. Indeed, the processing of children through the criminal justice system should be a measure of last resort. It is the case that for many of the children who have come before the criminal justice system, really serious social issues should have been dealt with first by way of crime prevention. I know from speaking to those involved in the Irish Youth Justice Service that the Garda Síochána youth diversion projects have very high levels of success. There are some very positive stories coming from the diversion system. The Irish Youth Justice Service has also supplied me with information on the typical issues which impact on its young clients. Those clients tend to be out of formal education, have anger control and substance abuse issues, behavioural and emotional difficulties, and poor literacy and numeracy skills. Senator Jim d'Arcy referred to family issues and certainly difficulties for parents struggling to intervene have also been identified. Again, I am seeking to have this addressed in the Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality but I am conscious that the issue of juvenile diversion is very much under the remit of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs now.

I thank the Minister again and welcome this legislation. When I started in practice, I represented clients as young as eight and nine before the criminal courts. I am really glad that we have moved beyond that system now.