Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. Even though I am always happy to see her here in the Chamber, I was unaware that the Minister would not be here today. It is not the Minister of State's fault but, historically, I have always looked to withdraw my Commencement matters in such instances in order to ensure that nuanced questions, such as those around the JLO and timing out of the system, can be answered on the spot by the Minister. I just want to put that on the record. That is not a criticism directed at the Minister of State.

Timing out of childhood is obviously a significant issue and Covid has not necessarily been the thing to delay these cases. Some children have faced delays of six or seven years. That is a long delay in dealing with a charge in anybody's life. If anything, not having the matter dealt with encourages the continuation of criminal behaviour because you are just waiting on something, you are not really sure and your life is on hold. Has the governance and strategy group been set up and what is its make-up? I have one more suggestion for the Minister.It involves my spent convictions legislation that will, hopefully, make its way through the Dáil. The youth work strategies and legislation acknowledge a young person up to the age of 24. This is what we need to do when we are looking at youth strategies. A person does not just become an adult when he or she turns 18. We should be extending this up to the age of 24.