Martin Brady (Dublin North East, Fianna Fail)
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Question 77: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform when the Youth Justice Service of his Department will take over responsibility for the juvenile detention centres currently managed by the Department of Education and Science; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6795/07]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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Responsibility for the management of four children detention schools — Finglas Child and Adolescent Centre, Oberstown Boys School, Oberstown Girls School and Trinity House School — will transfer to the Irish Youth Justice Service of my Department on 1 March 2007. This will follow the commencement of the relevant provisions of the Children Act 2001, as amended by the Criminal Justice Act 2006.

In addition to the transfer of operational budgets from the Department of Education and Science, significant capital investment of over €140 million in the detention schools has been secured as part of the National Development Plan 2007-2013. I am confident that this investment and the Government's other reforms to children detention services will significantly improve the accommodation in the schools and end the practice of using adult prison places for the detention of children.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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Question 78: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the information he holds on the rates of recidivism amongst young offenders here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6861/07]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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While there have been some studies on this issue they have been sample based rather than longitudinal in nature. As the Deputy may be aware, the Government decided, in December 2005, to establish the Irish Youth Justice Service to take responsibility for the management and development of all services relating to young people who offend. This responsibility includes the management of the children detention schools which will transfer from the Department of Education and Science with effect from 1 March 2007 upon the commencement of relevant provisions of the Children Act 2001 as amended by the Criminal Justice Act 2006.

The establishment of the Irish Youth Justice Service followed the Report on the Youth Justice Review. One of the findings of that Review was that there were gaps in data on youth justice and historical weaknesses in information gathering. It is a priority of the Service to address this issue and a researcher has been engaged on contract to establish baseline data from which a process of gathering longitudinal information on children who offend, including recidivism rates, can be set up. The transfer of the responsibility for the management of the children detention schools will facilitate my Department in tracking through the youth justice system those children who offend and, thereby, help establish recidivism rates in the future. The commissioning of a specific study into historical rates of recidivism amongst children who offend is being considered by my Department at present.