FG outlines its alternative to failed detention centres

ACCORDING to the Public Accounts Committee, it costs from €300,000 to €500,000 to keep just one young offender in a detention centre for one year.

At one such centre — Finglas — the cost in 2004 of maintaining a detention place for a young person was €507,407.

And what do we get for all this financial outlay? When young offenders are released, we are almost guaranteed they will reoffend. The system is not working and Fine Gael wants to look at alternatives to it.

One would be to consider ways in which the Defence Forces could become more involved in the communities where they are based.

As a former officer in the Defence Forces, I know there is a wealth of experience, skill, training and physical resources that might be useful. This could be the case particularly in providing leadership to community groups or a programme that could be an alternative to prison for young offenders.

Before providing this alternative, I envisage a wide consultation process with relevant bodies such as the probation service and community groups, and an examination of how similar programmes work in other countries.

Committing juveniles to prison for anti-social behaviour or other minor criminal behaviour does not work.

The Defence Forces’ personnel, skills and facilities are a potential alternative. Others have referred to this as a ‘boot camp’ — but I see it as a rehabilitation alternative to the failing system currently in place.

Since we put out this idea I am not surprised at the level of support we have received from the public, but I am surprised at the number of offers of help from professionals in the area who want to provide a better alternative.

Fine Gael has been attacked for supporting ‘wet rooms’ in A&E units, even though they are already in use in some Irish hospitals.

We promoted greater protection for homeowners who confront intruders only to be attacked hysterically by opponents. The Law Reform Commission now supports our view.

Finally, we were told that having sentencing guidelines for judges who must publicly explain any deviation from them was interfering with the judiciary. The DPP has recently advocated exactly what FG proposed at our last árd fheis.

Billy Timmins TD

Fine Gael defence spokesman

Leinster House

Dublin 2