About Time

Practice of jailing minors in adult prisons to end from this week:

The practice of admitting minors to adult prisons is to cease from this week onwards.
Until now, 17 year olds remanded in custody were typically placed in St Patrick’s Institution for young offenders, which forms part of the Mountjoy Prison complex.
The Government has been repeatedly criticised over the practice by children’s rights advocates and international human rights groups .
From Monday onwards, Oberstown child detention school near Lusk, Co Dublin, will take all young men under the age of 18 who are newly remanded in custody by the courts.
All females under this age have been detained at the Oberstown campus since 2007.
The Government moved in recent times to expand the complex and recruit additional care staff at the Co Dublin facility.
If these additional residential places are full, legislation allows for under-18s to be remanded in St Patrick’s Institution. These provisions are due to be repealed soon, however.