The progress on legislation that will close St Patrick’s Institution, and allow for 17-year-old boys to be transferred to the new Oberstown campus, has been welcomed by Clare TD, Joe Carey
A former Fine Gael spokesman on Juvenile Justice, Deputy Carey said that an extension to Oberstown to enable such a transfer will be competed this year,and that the necessary legal changes to make this possible are currently being examined and drafted.
Deputy Carey said, “I welcome the confirmation which I received from Minister Frances Fitzgerald that once the extension tothe Oberstown campus is completed this year, the transfer of 17-year-old boys from St Patrick’s Institution will take place. This will remove children who are in conflict with the law from our adult prison facilities and place them in children-specific detention schools.
“The necessary legal changes required to facilitate this transfer, once the Oberstown extensionis complete, are currently being progressed by the Department of Justice and Equality. Heads of the Bill were approved by Government in September, and it is expected to be published shortly.”
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.