Teenager to challenge practice of detaining minors in St Patrick's

A 16-year-old boy has today been given leave to bring a constitutional challenge to the practice of detaining minors in St Patrick's Institution.

The detention centre, which is part of the Mountjoy Prison complex, holds male prisoners aged from 16 to 21, while a child is defined in Irish law as a person under the age of 18. Minors were committed to St Patrick’s Institution on 262 occasions in 2012 and last year Ombudsman for Children Emily Logan called for the cessation of holding juveniles there.