Tom Sheahan (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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Question 29: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of spaces in special residential units for underage juvenile offenders nationally; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14161/08]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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In March 2007 responsibility for children detention schools was transferred from the aegis of the Department of Education and Science to my Department. Children Detention Schools accept children who have been ordered to be detained as part of criminal proceedings before the Courts. The Children Detention Schools provide rehabilitative programmes of care, education and training for children being so detained. The four children detention schools can accommodate 77 children who are to be detained on foot of remand or committal orders from the Courts.

John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 30: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the plans he has in place for the detention of 16 to 18 year olds in the interim of the opening of Thornton Hall and the establishment of a new juvenile offenders prison. [14148/08]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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My colleague, the Minister for Children, Mr. Brendan Smith T.D., recently announced the Government's decision to develop new children detention facilities on a State owned site at Oberstown, Lusk, Co. Dublin, which currently houses 3 of the 4 existing children detention schools.

The new facilities, which are being developed by the Irish Youth Justice Service of my Department, will replace some older accommodation on the site, and create sufficient new detention school places to accommodate 16 and 17 year old boys, who are currently detained in St. Patrick's Institution. The development, which is a children detention school model and not a prison, will involve careful planning and consultation. The facilities will be secure and capable of supporting staff in delivering a safe, caring environment for welfare, education and rehabilitative programmes.

In the interim, 16 and 17 year old boys may continue to be detained in St. Patrick's Institution, a closed medium security place of detention for males aged 16 to 21 years of age. Much effort has gone into improving facilities at St. Patrick's in recent years for those who will continue to be held there pending the new development at Lusk, and a significant increase in staff has also been made.

The separation of children and young adults in St. Patrick's Institution has taken place in so far as is possible given the physical limitations of the St. Patrick's site. Should it be required when the Mountjoy complex is closed, interim accommodation for 16 and 17 year old boys, segregated from adults, will be provided on the Thornton Hall campus, pending the provision of children detention school facilities. On completion of the detention school development project in Lusk, all children under 18 years of age being detained will only be accommodated in dedicated children facilities.

When fully completed, the new facilities will meet the highest international standards and will be a centre of excellence in best practice for youth detention. This major development will play a key role in the suite of measures available in the Children Act 2001, as amended, in making children who offend accountable for their actions and promoting reintegration into their families and communities.