David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 49:

In page 25, between lines 10 and 11, to insert the following:"(1A) Any child who breaches the rules of a children detention school may be disciplined on the instructions of the Director of the school in a way that is both reasonable, proportionate and within the prescribed limits.

(1B) Without prejudice to the power of the Minister to prescribe limits for the disciplining of children detained in children detention schools, the following forms of discipline shall be prohibited—

(a) corporal punishment or any other form of physical violence,

(b) deprivation of food or drink,

(c) treatment that could reasonably be expected to be detrimental to physical, psychological or emotional wellbeing, or

(d) treatment that is cruel, inhuman or degrading.".

Subsection 201(2) of the Children Act 2001 includes an important prohibition on certain forms of discipline, including corporal punishment or any form of physical violence, deprivation of food or drink, treatment that could reasonably be expected to be detrimental to physical, psychological or emotional well-being, and treatment that is cruel, inhumane or degrading. The most recent Health Information and Quality Authority report, published in February 2015, stated in regard to Oberstown: "The management of challenging behaviour was not consistently in line with best practice and single separation was used extensively and frequently for long periods of time." The report gave an example of a child who was locked in a room for 83 hours and 45 minutes over a four-day period, including sleeping hours.

Given recent concerns expressed as to the management of challenging behaviour, particularly the use of single separation, it is unclear as to why this important provision, which prohibits certain treatment, has not been retained as part of the new section 201 of the 2001 Act. Section 17 of the Bill substitutes an alternative wording for section 201. While the permissible sanctions for breach of discipline continue to be set out in section 201A, as inserted by section 18 of the Bill, it would be prudent also to retain the express prohibitions on certain disciplinary sanctions in the legislation. Such matters are expressly prohibited under section 13 of the Prisons Act 2007, which relates to adults. We therefore submit that the original section 201 of the principal Act should be retained, with the addition of the word "proportionate".