Written answers
Thursday, 2 October 2008
Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform
Juvenile Offenders
5:00 pm
Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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Question 48: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of occasions on which the Garda has sought court orders under sections 91, 111, 113 and 114 of the Children's Act 2001, which are designed to help combat juvenile crime by ensuring that parents take responsibility for children involved in acts of crime and vandalism; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32860/08]
Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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It should be noted that the imposition of any particular sanction on the parents or guardians of an offending child under the sections of the Children Act 2001 which are referred to by the Deputy is a matter for the judiciary. The Courts are, subject only to the Constitution and the law, independent in the exercise of their judicial functions. There is no mechanism in Sections 111, 113 and 114 of the Children Act 2001, as amended, which allows the Gardaí to seek the court orders referred to in the question. While it is implicit in Section 91 of the 2001 Act that a member of An Garda Síochána may make the application to the Court, it is primarily a matter for the court.
I am informed by the Garda authorities that the information sought by the Deputy is not recorded on PULSE and it would necessitate an extensive manual trawl to establish if such an application was made to the court. Therefore, it is not possible to provide the information requested by the Deputy without a disproportionate expenditure of Garda time and resources.
There are other interventions available under the Children Act 2001 which involve the parents of children who come into conflict with the criminal justice system. The Deputy will be aware that restorative justice principles underpin the Children Act, 2001, as amended. The Act introduced a comprehensive set of restorative justice provisions, all with the aim of diverting children from further criminal behaviour by making the offenders more directly accountable for their actions, by involving the parents and by giving a greater voice to victims of crime. Essentially, there are two approaches to restorative justice provided for in the Act. The first approach is set out in Part 4 of the Act under the statutory diversion programme, as operated by An Garda Síochána. This provides for restorative cautions (Section 26) and restorative conferences (Section 29). The second approach is set out under Sections 78-87 of the Children Act 2001, where a court may direct the Probation Service to arrange for a family conference.
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