Summary of Report on

The Children (Amendment) Bill 2024 

Aoife Doheny 

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This report was produced by the Joint Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, chaired by Matt McCarthy of Sinn Fein and attended by representatives from Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, Social Democrats, Labour and Independents.

 

Recommendations

The Committee made 18 recommendations, which have been summarised under five broad headings below.

 

Restorative Justice

 

First, the Committee recommended the expanded use of restorative justice as a practical alternative to detention. In particular, it noted that family conferences were an underutilised tool in this area and could also be used for strengthening referrals to the Youth Diversion Programme.

 

Re-integration

 

Second, the Committee recommended that rehabilitation and reintegration be paramount in decisions weighing detention as an option for convicted young people. It emphasised the need for more community-based social reintegration schemes, advising that children released from detention should receive similar support to children leaving the State care system.

 

Expansion

 

Third, the Committee recommended nationwide expansion of two schemes: the bail supervision scheme and the model offered by the Dublin Children’s Court.

 

Statutory Protections

 

Fourth, the Committee recommended heightened statutory protections for children convicted of crimes. It supported the requirement that judges provide written reasons for refusing a child’s admission into Youth Diversion Programme. It also recommended that court accompaniment for children, including the use of intermediaries, be placed on a statutory footing. Lastly, it recommended that any adverse incidents or accidents that occur in detention centres be reported to the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA).

 

Future Improvements

 

In terms of future directions for improvement, the Committee recommended the establishment of a dedicated youth justice agency. It also recommended that the Department of Justice conduct comparative research on youth justice systems and restorative justice practices in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

 

Main Issues

 

Six main topics were discussed in written and oral submissions.

Participants in discussions included statutory bodies, such as the Ombudsman for Children and Law Society, NGOs, including the Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) and the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL), as well as a victim of youth crime.

 

Deferred sentencing supervision orders

 

The Committee received suggestions regarding an anomaly in the Children’s Act concerning suspended sentences. Children cannot be handed down a custodial sentence if they reoffend during the suspended time period, since the Act does not provide for reactivating a suspended sentence order. NGOs and the Ombudsman recommended the use of Deferred Sentence Supervision Orders as a solution to this, as it allows for both accountability and flexibility for judges.

 

Minimum age of criminal responsibility

 

Stakeholders stressed that a minimum age of 12 is out of line with international and UNCRC standards, and recommended that it be raised to 14. NGOs noted that committing serious crimes at a young age may be indicative of neurological or welfare problem, which was questioned further by the Committee.

 

Protections for those who ‘age-out’ and increased privacy

 

Several submissions indicated that protections for children could be extended to people aged 23 or even 25 to account for continued neurological maturation. This would include expansion of Youth Diversion programme.

 

Bail Supervision Scheme and Youth Diversion Programme.

 

Oral submissions recommended the nationwide extension of the Bail Supervision Scheme and Youth Diversion Programme, noting that both were very cost-effective. A report conducted of the bail scheme found that there was a 72% reduction in reoffending in the first six months, with no new arrests for 63% of participants.

Some contributors highlighted that this is in contrast to detention, which perpetuates crime rather than reducing it while also increasing children’s suffering. However, other contributors highlighted the need for accountability for serious crimes and public safety.

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