Ministers for Justice & Children must develop new plan for children in St Patrick’s prison following Thornton Hall deferral

Children’s Ombudsman, Emily Logan, has today (Tuesday) reiterated her call for the cessation of incarcerating children in St Patrick’s adult prison. The Ombudsman for Children is also calling on the Ministers for Justice and Children to develop an interim arrangement for these children until the capital funding for the expansion of the juvenile detention facility at Oberstown is available once again, and has said that creative solutions must be found to transition the children from St Patrick’s prison as soon as possible.

As Ombudsman for Children, Emily Logan, has statutory responsibility for promoting and monitoring the rights of all children living in Ireland without prejudice.

In response to a recent report by the Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg, the Government has said that it is their policy to end the practice of detaining 16 and 17 year olds in St Patrick’s Institution. This will be achieved by carrying out the necessary redevelopment of the Oberstown detention school campus.

The current economic situation had led to a number of capital projects being shelved including the expansion of the campus at Oberstown, which was supposed to mean that children are no longer incarcerated in a prison.

Emily Logan said: “The Government’s policy in relation to children in St Patrick’s Institution is clear. But now that the situation has changed, both Ministers with responsibility in this area, the Minister for Justice and the Minister for Children must develop and communicate their new plan for these children as a matter of priority.”

Emily Logan added: “The very fact that children are being incarcerated in a prison at all in Ireland is a serious contravention of international human rights standards. The prison itself has been a focus of sustained criticism over many years at national and international level as well as from within the prison itself. It is an entirely inappropriate setting for children. The building is atrocious and unsuitable and of more concern to me is that fact that these 16 and 17 year olds are not viewed as children but rather as prisoners, and remain detained in a predominantly custodial environment in which some of them have told my Office they do not feel safe.”

The children in St Patrick’s prison have offended. Deprivation of liberty is a punishment in itself. The deprivation of a child’s liberty must be viewed in the context of the child’s different stage of physical and psychological development and different emotional and educational needs. Accordingly, international and domestic standards provide that children must be treated differently.

Article 40(1) of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child requires

States to treat children in conflict with the law in a manner that promotes the child’s sense of dignity and worth, reinforces the child’s respect for human rights, and takes account of the child’s age and the desirability of promoting reintegration. Central to the approach in delivering a child-orientated juvenile justice system is the acceptance that, first and foremost, anyone under 18 is a child.

The Ombudsman for Children has raised her concerns about children in prison numerous times over the past seven years both domestically and internationally. The response to the Ombudsman for Children’s concerns was always the expansion of the Oberstown facility. Now that the situation has changed, the Minister for Justice and the Minister for Children must develop and communicate an alternative plan for these children. The Ombudsman for Children will continue to pursue this matter until children are no longer detained in a custodial environment.

ENDS

Contact: Nikki Gallagher at 01-8656803 or 086-8163246

Notes to Editors:

Since 2009 the Ombudsman for Children’s Office has been engaged with St Patrick’s Institution undertaking direct work with the children detained there, providing training for prison officers working with the children and the development of information materials for children and their families about the detention of children.

St. Patrick’s Institution is a closed, medium security prison managed by the Irish Prison Service, which holds remand and sentenced young people between 16 and 21 years of age.

In 2007 the Ombudsman for Children commissioned research to identify the kinds of barriers facing children in the achievement of their rights. Children in the criminal justice system were identified as a group who face multiple barriers to the full enjoyment of their rights.

• 15 November 2011
• Type: Press Release
• Topic: Child Protection, Youth Justice