Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 137: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if his attention has been drawn to the widespread concern among the public and the Garda regarding juvenile crime; if he has familiarised himself with the reason for the reluctance of the Children Court to hand down custodial sentences; his views on the fact that in many cases there is no deterrent to young persons in breaking the law; and his policy in respect of juvenile crime. [8375/10]

Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Tackling youth crime is a key priority for this Government. The Government's policy on youth crime is set out in detail in the National Youth Justice Strategy 2008-2010. This strategy is underpinned by the principles of the Children Act 2001, as amended. The Act states explicitly that a period of detention should only be imposed as a measure of last resort and that a court dealing with a child charged with an offence should have due regard to the protection of society, the interests of the victim of the offence and the child's best interests.

The approach adopted by the Government involves the deployment of Garda Juvenile Liaison Officers and the use of measures such as the Garda Diversion Programme, Garda Youth Diversion Projects, Young Persons Probation Projects, community sanctions and the incremental process of warnings, good behaviour contracts and anti-social behaviour orders, all of which attempt to confront youth crime and related behaviours in an incremental way. The combination of these various measures, with detention as a last resort, offer a comprehensive and effective response to the question of youth crime.

It is important to note that these measures do not provide an easy option for young offenders. They are designed to tackle offending behaviour and can also involve close supervision, curfews and other restrictions. There is a comprehensive range of measures available to the courts, including, where appropriate, sufficient places to meet the needs of the courts for the detention of young offenders. It is important to note, however, that the imposition of any particular sanction is a matter for the courts.

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 138: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the position regarding the report of the expert group on children's detention services, which recommends the development of 167 places for young persons detained by the courts; if the provision of this number of places is still his objective; if not, the number of places it is proposed to provide and the basis for this figure. [8383/10]

Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Following consideration of the report of the interdepartmental Expert Group on Children Detention Schools, in March 2008 the Government approved the development of new national children detention facilities at Oberstown, Lusk, Co. Dublin.

The Office of Public Works has been charged with designing the new facilities and managing the construction stage of the project which will be undertaken in phases. The design stage is well advanced with both concept and sketch designs to deliver a total of 167 detention places, to include a mixture of new build and existing facilities on the Oberstown Campus, having been completed.

The estimate by the Expert Group of likely future capacity demand of 167 places was based on an analysis of trends in juvenile detention along with data sets from An Garda Síochána, the National Juvenile Office, the Courts Service (and others) and general population projections produced by the Central Statistics Office for the under 18 age group. The 167 places includes provision for 16 to 17 year old boys, a group which is currently housed in St. Patrick's Institution. As committed to in the report of the Expert Group (www.iyjs.ie), the IYJS continues to keep the capacity requirement under review.

The Deputy will be aware that tendering for construction of the new facilities will be subject to Government approval and to the necessary funding being made available.