Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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181. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the full extent of the custodial accommodation for juvenile offenders; if this is sufficient to meet current needs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28541/13]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I assume that the Deputy is referring to custodial accommodation for persons under the age of 18 years, which corresponds to the definition of a child under the Children Act, 2001. This Act provides the legal framework for the operation of the criminal justice system in relation to children.

At this time, custodial accommodation for under 18 year olds is provided on the Oberstown campus, Lusk, Co Dublin and in St Patrick’s Institution, Dublin 7.

There are 3 children detention schools on the Oberstown campus. The entry criteria for each of these sites and their certified detention capacity under the Children Act are outlined below:

There has been a recent shortage of bed spaces for boys on the Oberstown campus. This arises in part from an increase in demand for places from the courts, compared to the trend over the past few years. However, it has also been affected by a delay in reopening a detention unit of 8 bed spaces in Trinity House School. This has reduced the available capacity in that site to 16 bed spaces. As outlined in my reply to Parliamentary Question 246 on 16 May 2013 (23519/13), my Department is working closely with the Oberstown Board of Management to resolve this issue and bring this detention unit back into operation at the earliest possible date.

Apart from the Oberstown campus, St. Patrick’s Institution currently provides detention spaces for boys aged 17 years on admission. The facility also provides prison accommodation in a separate wing for males between the ages of 18 and 21. There is no set capacity in St. Patrick’s Institution for 17 year old boys.

The Children Act 2001 contains a transitional provision for the continued use of St. Patrick’s Institution or a place of detention for 16 and 17 year old boys until such time as there are sufficient places to accommodate these groups in a children detention school. With effect from 1 May 2012, I announced the ending of the practice of detaining 16 year old boys in St Patrick’s Institution through using existing capacity that was available on the Oberstown campus. Since July 2012 there have been no 16 year old boys detained in St Patrick’s Institution.

The Government is committed to ending the practice of detaining children in St. Patrick’s Institution. It is a priority of mine, since taking on responsibility for the children detention schools, to deliver on this commitment. At present, there is insufficient capacity on the Oberstown campus for taking on responsibility for all children under the age of 18 years.

Funding for the development of increased capacity on the Oberstown campus is a key element in resolving this issue. On 2 April 2012, I announced a capital investment package for the National Children Detention Facility project in Oberstown. The project is at an advanced stage of the tender process and it is intended to begin construction in July 2013, with a view to ending the practice of detaining children in St Patrick’s Institution by mid 2014. This will provide a facility with a capacity of 90 detention places in total. I am advised that based on recent trends, this should be sufficient to meet the requirements of the courts for children detention places.