THE GOVERNMENT has pledged to end the jailing of children in adult prisons within two years, following decades of stinging criticism over the practice.
Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald announced yesterday that a new €50 million child detention facility will be built by 2015 near Lusk, Co Dublin.
This will end the use of St Patrick’s Institution in Dublin for offenders aged between 16 and 17 years. About 160 under-18s are detained in the prison annually.
A State committee of inquiry first recommended the immediate closure of the institution in 1985 on the grounds it was not possible to rehabilitate young people. Since then, national bodies – such as the Ombudsman for Children – and international bodies have criticised the continued practice of jailing young people in an adult prison.
Ms Fitzgerald said young offenders needed education and support to meet their complex needs, rather than “a further education from older and more experienced criminals”.
“The path from St Patrick’s Institution to Mountjoy Prison has been too well worn over the years. We must interrupt the predictable path of violence and crime,” she said.
“This development will allow us to place these young people in a secure environment that will offer them a second chance to be productive people who contribute to society.”
Plans to build a €90 million child detention unit were first announced by the previous government in 2008, but were put on hold due to pressure on the public finances. Revised plans for a 30-bed facility are significantly smaller but will make use of spare capacity in Oberstown child detention school, which is situated alongside the planned development.
The move was welcomed by social justice campaigner Fr Peter McVerry, who has called for the prison to be closed for years.
“My real objection to St Patrick’s is the regime. It hardens young people. It’s dehumanising. There’s a lot of intimidation and bullying. Young people are locked up for most of the day and are restricted in access to education and training. I’m delighted to hear of moves to substantially reduce the numbers being admitted there,” Fr McVerry said.
The Children’s Rights Alliance described it as a “momentous achievement”, while Barnardos said it was a “substantial stride” towards improved treatment of children in the criminal justice system.
Ms Fitzgerald said moves to phase out the use of the institution for under-18s will begin next month when all newly remanded 16-year-olds will be detained at Oberstown.
While child detention schools are regarded as much more suitable environments, re-offending rates for young people leaving these facilities remain high.
Despite costing about €300,000 per bed, latest available figures show between 50 and 80 per cent of young people who leave Trinity House – a detention school based at Oberstown – have re-offended within a year.
