Oireachtas committee calls to expand bail scheme for children

The Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) told the committee that a review of the Bail Supervision Scheme (BSS) found that there was a 72% reduction in reoffending from six months post-BSS versus six months pre-BSS

During hearings, the committee was told the Bail Supervision Scheme (BSS) — which is operated by a voluntary body, Extern — costs in the region of €20,000 per child per year, compared to around €230,000 at the Oberstown Child Detention Centre (pictured). File photo: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

An Oireachtas committee has called for an intensive supervision scheme for children charged with offences to be extended nationwide.

In a report, the Oireachtas Justice Committee also called for the Dublin Children’s Court model to be adopted throughout the country.

The recommendations are in the committee’s pre-legislative scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Children (Amendment) Bill 2024.

During hearings, the committee was told the Bail Supervision Scheme (BSS) — which is operated by a voluntary body, Extern — costs in the region of €20,000 per child per year, compared to around €230,000 at the Oberstown Child Detention Centre.

Currently the scheme is only available in Dublin, Cork and Limerick. Extern proposed extending it to Donegal, the Midlands and Waterford.

The Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) told the committee that a review of the scheme found that there was a 72% reduction in reoffending from six months post-BSS versus six months pre-BSS. IPRT noted that for 63% of participants, there were no new arrests.

The committee also heard from a victim of juvenile crime, Valerie McAllorum Ryan, who, the report said, “was in favour of extending the scheme”.

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Ms McAllorum Ryan said she was left in a “critical condition, fighting for my life” after being struck by a car, driven by a minor, in a hit-and-run in Sallins, Co Kildare in 2018.

She said the boy received a three-year detention order, which was suspended, and that the juvenile went on to reoffend. However, she was told the custodial sentence could not be imposed due to an anomaly in the Children Act 2001.

She said:

As a result of this apparent anomaly, I feel I did not, nor could ever, receive justice and the juvenile concerned learned that there are little consequences for their actions and the opportunity to rehabilitate this individual has been lost.

The general scheme contains provisions for Deferred Sentence Supervision Order, which, the committee heard, should close the loophole.

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties told the committee there is a huge amount of neurodiversity, mental illness and early school leaving among children coming before the courts.

The report cited the Law Society as stating that ADHD is “very prominent” and often undiagnosed with children dropping out of school.

“The Law Society described it as a recipe for disaster if a child is on the waiting list for Camhs and then drops out of school, and that if they have an underlying neurodiversity issue and start taking drugs, any underlying mental health issues are exacerbated, and there is no support mechanism to try to get them into treatment,” the report said.