Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy may be aware statutory provision in relation to the age of criminal responsibility in the State is set out in section 52 of the Children Act 2001 (as amended). The Criminal Justice Act 2006, which amended the Children Act, effectively raised the age of criminal responsibility from 7 years of age to 12 years of age and provided in general that children under the age of 12 years may not be charged with an offence.

The Children Act includes provision to prosecute children aged 10 to 11 but only for the most serious crimes which are specified in the Act. This provision has never been used. Children aged 12 and 13 can be prosecuted but only with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions and for the most serious crimes.

There is a further safeguard in the legislation whereby the court has the power to dismiss a case against a child under 14 years of age if "having due regard to the child's age and level of maturity, it determines that the child did not have a full understanding of what was involved in the commission of the offence".

For most children and most crimes our effective age of criminal responsibility is 14. We then divert children from the criminal justice system as far as possible. When diverted, they are under the care of a specialist police officer and a specialised youth service (Youth Diversion Programmes).

As part of the Youth Justice Strategy 2021-2027, my Department reviewed the age of criminal responsibility and decided on no change. There are no current plans to review the age limit further.