The cost of keeping a young offender in a detention school is costing up to €500,000 a year, according to figures released yesterday.
The Department of Education has disclosed that rising costs and falling occupancy levels are contributing to average costs of €368,000 a year for children in detention schools. This figure is more than four times the cost of keeping an adult in prison.
The highest costs were recorded at the Finglas Child and Adolescent Centre which had 12 places at a cost of €507,407 each per annum in 2004.
The next highest costs were for Oberstown girls' school (€454,000), Trinity House (€362,000), Oberstown boys' school (€282,000), and St Joseph's in Clonmel (€230,000).
While these centres for young offenders have a combined capacity of 114 places, the average occupancy last year was 84.
The cost of running the centres was disclosed at a meeting yesterday of the Dáil Committee on Public Accounts at which the comptroller and auditor general, John Purcell, expressed concern over management of the area.
He said parts of the sector were still hampered by unresolved problems and passive management despite raising similar concerns almost 15 years ago.