Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 22 January 2026
497. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the engagements her Department has had with the Department of Justice; Home Affairs and Migration regarding the prevalence of juvenile crime; if any initiatives are intended by her Department in relation to the issue; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5327/26]
View answerOberstown Children Detention Campus (Oberstown) is Ireland’s sole national centre for the detention, care and education of young people under 18 years referred by the courts on detention or remand orders. It is a children detention school, established under the Children Act, 2001, as amended. Oberstown provides individualised care to young people through an integrated multi-professional approach that enables young people to address their offending behaviour and return successfully to society. It is governed by a Board of Management appointed by the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality under sections 164 and 167 of that Act.
The primary role of Oberstown is to provide a programme of care and education aimed at rehabilitating those children referred to Oberstown by the courts. As per Section 158 of the Children Act, 2001, the principal object of Oberstown is to provide appropriate educational, training and other programmes and facilities for children referred to them by a court and to promote the child’s reintegration into society and prepare the child to take his/her place in the community as a person who observes the law and is capable of making a positive and productive contribution to society.
Under the Children Act, 2001 detention of children is to be used only where the court is satisfied that detention is the only suitable way of dealing with the child. Similarly, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), to which Ireland is a party, sets out that detention is to be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest time possible.
The Department works closely with the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, which has lead responsibility for the wider youth justice system, to ensure that the youth justice system makes both detention and meaningful alternatives to detention available to the courts. Together the two Departments ensure that the various approaches work in harmony with each other, especially when dealing with children whose offences do not necessarily meet the threshold for detention. The Departments are in regular contact with each other on these and related matters.
The Programme for Government commits to the expansion of prevention and diversion programmes in the youth justice system. Notwithstanding this, detention must be available to the courts to deal with the most serious offences by children. The Department is examining with Oberstown how a small number of additional places for boys within the existing accommodation can be provided.
Regarding longer-term capacity planning, the Youth Justice Strategy 2021 to 2027 includes the following commitment:
We will implement a research-based assessment of likely demands for Detention places and services and the consequent resource requirements over a 5-year period to inform future strategic options as well as ongoing planning, budgeting and service development.
The Department has commenced work on this project and initial research has been completed. Assessment of that research will now proceed with relevant stakeholders being consulted. Additionally, the Department and Oberstown will be investing in expanded capacity using funding from the NDP.
