Fears as juvenile facility plan is shelved

TEENAGERS will continue to be locked up in an adult prison indefinitely as the planned expansion of a juvenile facility has been shelved as part of cutbacks.

Children’s Ombudsman Emily Logan urged the Justice Minster and the Minister for Children to make a statement on what was going to happen to young people still being housed in St Patrick’s prison, despite international calls to end this practice.

The economic situation has led to a number of capital projects being shelved, including the expansion of the juvenile detention facility at Oberstown, to which those in St Patrick’s would be transferred.