PART 10

Children Detention Schools

General

157. —In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires—

“Act of 1908” means the Children Act, 1908;

“board of management” has the meaning assigned to it by section 164 ;

“child” means a child found guilty or convicted of an offence by a court and in respect of whom a court has made a children detention order;

“Director” means a person appointed under section 180 as Director of a children detention school or, as the case may be, of more than one such school;

“Inspector” means the person appointed under section 185 as Inspector of Children Detention Schools;

“Minister” means the Minister for Education and Science;

“responsible person”, in relation to a child, means a relative of the child or a person in whose care the child is placed under this Act;

“supervision in the community” has the meaning assigned to it by section 207 .

158. —It shall be the principal object of children detention schools to provide appropriate educational and training programmes and facilities for children referred to them by a court and, by—

(a) having regard to their health, safety, welfare and interests, including their physical, psychological and emotional wellbeing,

(b) providing proper care, guidance and supervision for them,

(c) preserving and developing satisfactory relationships between them and their families,

(d) exercising proper moral and disciplinary influences on them, and

(e) recognising the personal, cultural and linguistic identity of each of them,

to promote their reintegration into society and prepare them to take their place in the community as persons who observe the law and are capable of making a positive and productive contribution to society.

159. —(1) Every certified reformatory school or industrial school under Part IV of the Act of 1908, functions in relation to which stood vested in the Minister immediately before the commencement of this section, shall, subject to subsection (2) and at the request or with the agreement of its board of management, on such commencement become a children detention school.

(2) The board of management of a certified reformatory school or industrial school to which subsection (1) relates may, on or before the commencement of this section, give notice to the Minister in writing that it wishes to resign the certificate for the school either from such commencement or at the expiration of 12 months from the date of the notice, whichever is the sooner, and on such commencement, or, as the case may be, at the expiration of 12 months from the date of the notice (unless before that time the notice is withdrawn), the resignation of the certificate shall take effect.

(3) The lawfulness of the detention of any child or youthful offender (within the meaning of the Act of 1908) in any existing certified reformatory school or industrial school shall not be affected by the commencement of this section.

(4) Any reference in any enactment to a reformatory school or an industrial school shall be construed as a reference to a children detention school.

160. —(1) The Minister may, with the agreement of its owners, provide any place, or any school or premises, for use as a children detention school and by order designate it as such a school.

(2) The Minister may arrange for the construction of any building for use as a children detention school and by order designate it as such a school.

(3) The Minister may direct one of his or her officers—

(a) to examine the structure, condition and environs of any place, school, premises or building referred to in subsections (1) and (2), and

(b) to report to the Minister on its suitability as a children detention school,

and for that purpose the officer so directed may, with the Minister's approval, employ whatever expert help and advice he or she considers necessary.

(4) No order shall be made by the Minister under this section in relation to any place, school, premises or building unless, having considered a report under subsection (3), he or she is satisfied that it is suitable for use as a children detention school.

(5) An order under this section may be revoked by the Minister, including an order under this subsection.

(6) An order under this section shall be laid by the Minister before each House of the Oireachtas.

161. —(1) The Minister may enter into arrangements with persons for the provision by those persons on behalf of the Minister of a place providing facilities for the detention of children found guilty of offences.

(2) The provisions of this Part relating to children detention schools shall, subject to subsection (3), apply to a place provided under subsection (1).

(3) Where a place is so provided, provisions as to its management, staffing and operation generally and the terms, conditions and rules under which it operates shall be subject to agreement between the persons managing it and the Minister.

(4) The powers of any court in relation to children detention schools shall apply also to a place provided under this section.

(5) Any such place need not cater exclusively for children found guilty of offences.

(6) The Minister shall cause the President of the High Court, the President of the Circuit Court and the President of the District Court to be notified of any arrangements entered into under subsection (1).

162. —The Minister shall, on such terms and conditions as he or she thinks fit, make available to the persons managing any place provided for under section 161 such funds as are necessary for its operation—

(a) by a periodic contribution of funds,

(b) by a grant, or

(c) by a contribution in kind (whether by way of materials or labour or any other service).

163. —(1) Where the Minister is of opinion that a children detention school is no longer suitable for the detention of children or is no longer needed for that purpose, the Minister may make an order declaring that the school shall cease to be such a school as and from a time specified in the order.

(2) Where a board of management of a children detention school, or the managers of a place to which section 161 applies, informs or inform the Minister that a school is temporarily unsuitable for the detention of children, the Minister may make an order declaring that the school is to cease to be such a school for a period to be specified in the order.

(3) Where a children detention school ceases for any time to be such a school pursuant to an order under this section, the children detained therein shall be placed out under supervision in the community or transferred to another children detention school in accordance with the provisions of this Part relating to such placing out or transfer.

(4) The Minister shall cause a copy of any order made under this section to be sent to the board of management, or the managers, of the school or place concerned, the President of the High Court, the President of the Circuit Court and the President of the District Court.

Boards of Management

164. —(1) The Minister shall appoint a board of management to each children detention school or to more than one such school.

(2) The boards of management of certified reformatory schools and industrial schools which became children detention schools at the commencement of section 159 shall cease to exist on the appointment of boards of management to those schools under this section.

165. —(1) A board of management shall manage the children detention school or schools to which it has been appointed in accordance with criteria laid down from time to time by the Minister and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, shall—

(a) carry out any such policy in relation to children on remand or in detention as may be specified by the Minister,

(b) cooperate and liaise with other bodies who are interested or engaged in assisting children who have been charged with offences or are at risk,

(c) formulate the policy to be adopted in relation to permitted or authorised absences of children from the school or schools concerned pursuant to sections 202 to 207, and

(d) perform the other functions assigned to it under this Part.

(2) Boards of management shall have all such powers as are necessary or expedient for the exercise of their functions.

166. —(1) The Minister may by order assign such additional functions to one or more than one of the boards of management as the Minister considers to be incidental to or consequential on the functions assigned to them under other provisions of this Part.

(2) An order under this section may be amended or revoked by the Minister, including an order under this subsection.

167. —(1) Each board of management shall consist of a chairperson and 12 other members.

(2) (a)  The Minister shall from time to time as occasion requires appoint a member of a board of management to be its chairperson.

(b)  Where the chairperson ceases during his or her term of office to be a member of the board, he or she shall thereupon also cease to be its chairperson.

(c)  The chairperson shall, unless he or she sooner dies, resigns, becomes disqualified or is removed from office, hold office as such chairperson until his or her term of office as a member of the board expires but, if reappointed as such a member, he or she shall be eligible for reappointment as chairperson.

(3) In appointing persons to be members of a board of management, the Minister shall have regard to the desirability of their having knowledge or experience of matters that come within the competence of such a board in the performance of its functions.

(4) Of the members of each board of management at least—

(a) one shall be an officer of the Minister,

(b) one shall be an officer of a health board nominated by the Minister for Health and Children,

(c) one shall be an officer of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform nominated by that Minister,

(d) two shall be members of the staff of the children detention school or schools under the board's management, and

(e) two shall be representative of persons living in the area of one or more than one of such schools.

(5) Members of a board of management shall be appointed for a term not exceeding 4 years and shall be eligible for reappointment.

(6) Members of a board of management shall act on a part-time basis.

168. —(1) The Minister may remove from office a member of a board of management who, in the opinion of the Minister, has become incapable through ill-health of effectively performing his or her functions or has committed stated misbehaviour or whose removal appears to the Minister to be necessary for the effective performance by the board of its functions.

(2) A member of a board of management may at any time resign by letter addressed to the Minister, and the resignation shall take effect as and from the date on which the Minister receives the letter.

169. —(1) If a member of a board of management dies, resigns, becomes disqualified or is removed from office, the Minister may appoint a person to be a member in his or her stead.

(2) A person so appointed shall hold office for the remainder of the term of office of the member whom he or she replaces and be eligible for reappointment.

170. —Whenever it appears to the Minister that any member of a board of management is, on account of illness or for other sufficient reason, temporarily unable to act, the Minister may appoint another person to act for that member for such period as the Minister thinks proper.

171. —The chairperson and any other member of a board of management shall be paid, out of funds at the disposal of the board, such remuneration (if any) and such allowances for expenses as the Minister, with the approval of the Minister for Finance, may from time to time determine.

172. —For the purposes of expenditure by a board of management in the performance of its functions, the Minister may in each financial year, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, advance to the board out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas such sum or sums as the Minister, after consultation with the board, may determine.

173. —(1) Each board of management shall—

(a) keep in such form and in respect of such accounting periods as may be approved of by the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, all proper and usual accounts (including an income and expenditure account and balance sheet) of the resources of the board and of all moneys received or expended by it,

(b) keep such special accounts as the Minister may from time to time direct, and

(c) where a board has been appointed to manage more than one children detention school, ensure that separate accounts are kept and presented to the board by each such school.

(2) (a)  Accounts kept in pursuance of this section shall be submitted by each board of management to the Comptroller and Auditor General not later than 3 months after the end of each accounting year.

(b)  A copy of the income and expenditure account and of the balance sheet and of such other (if any) of its accounts as the Minister may direct, together with a copy of the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General on the accounts, shall be presented by each board to the Minister as soon as may be.

(c)  The Minister shall cause copies of each of the documents aforesaid to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.

174. —(1) Each board of management shall submit to the Minister an annual report which shall include information on the performance of its functions during the year to which it relates, information relating to the children detention school or schools under its management and such other information in such form as each board considers appropriate or as the Minister may direct.

(2) A report under subsection (1) shall be submitted to the Minister not later than 6 months after the end of the year to which it relates.

(3) Each board of management shall, at the request of the Minister, supply the Minister with such information relating to the performance of its functions as the Minister may from time to time specify.

(4) A copy of each report under subsection (1) shall be laid by the Minister before each House of the Oireachtas.

175. —(1) Each board of management shall hold such and so many meetings as may be necessary for the performance of its functions.

(2) (a)  The chairperson of a board of management shall, if present, chair meetings of the board.

(b)  If and so long as the chairperson is not present or if the office of chairperson is vacant, the members who are present at a meeting of the board shall choose one of their number to chair the meeting concerned.

(c)  The chairperson and each other member present shall have a vote.

(d)  Every question shall be determined by a majority of the votes of the members present and voting on the question.

(e)  In the case of an equal division of votes, the chairperson or, in his or her absence, the member chosen to chair the meeting shall have a second or casting vote.

(f)  The quorum for a meeting shall be 6 or such greater number as the board may from time to time determine.

(3) A board of management may act notwithstanding one or more than one vacancy among its members and, subject to the provisions of this Part, shall determine its own procedure.

176. —(1) The Minister may give directions to a board of management of a children detention school or the persons managing a place provided under section 161 in relation to their management of the school or place, and the board or persons shall comply with any such directions.

(2) Directions under subsection (1) shall not apply to any individual child detained in any such school or place.

177. —(1) Where a person who is a member of a board of management is—

(a) nominated as a member of Seanad Éireann, or

(b) elected as a member of either House of the Oireachtas or to the European Parliament, or

(c) regarded pursuant to Part XIII of the Second Schedule to the European Parliament Elections Act, 1997 , as having been elected to the European Parliament to fill a vacancy,

the person shall thereupon cease to be a member of the board.

(2) Where a person employed by a board of management is—

(a) nominated as a member of Seanad Éireann, or

(b) elected as a member of either House of the Oireachtas or to the European Parliament, or

(c) regarded pursuant to Part XIII of the Second Schedule to the European Parliament Elections Act, 1997 , as having been elected to the European Parliament to fill a vacancy,

the person shall thereupon stand seconded from employment by the board and shall not be paid by, or be entitled to receive from, it any remuneration or allowance in respect of the period commencing on such nomination or election or when that person is so regarded as having been elected (as the case may be) and ending when that person ceases to be a member of either such House or such Parliament.

(3) A person who is for the time being entitled under the Standing Orders of either House of the Oireachtas to sit therein or who is a member of the European Parliament shall, while that person is so entitled or is such a member, be disqualified from becoming a member of a board of management or from employment in any capacity by it.

(4) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (2), that subsection shall be construed as prohibiting, among other things, the reckoning of a period mentioned in that subsection as service with a board of management for the purposes of any superannuation benefits.

178. —(1) Subject to subsection (2), a member of a board of management shall not disclose to any person who is not such a member any information relating to any person which the member has acquired as such member without that person's consent.

(2) Subsection (1) shall not apply in relation to any such disclosure of information to the Minister or his or her officers or to the Comptroller and Auditor General.

179. —(1) The board of management of a children detention school or schools may at any time, and shall whenever so required by the Minister, make rules—

(a) for the management of the school or schools under its management and the maintenance of discipline and good order generally therein, and

(b) without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, setting out the procedures and conditions applicable to—

(i) the grant of mobility trips under section 204 ,

(ii) the grant of temporary leave under section 205 , and

(iii) placing out under supervision in the community pursuant to section 207 .

(2) The rules shall be consistent with this Part and any regulations made under it by the Minister or any criteria so laid down or general directions so given by him or her for the management of the school or schools concerned.

(3) A notice containing an abridged version of the rules shall be displayed in a conspicuous place in each children detention school, and a child on admission to such a school shall be given a document which contains information relating to the rules and the daily routine in the school and is written in language appropriate to the age of the children catered for in the school.

Director and staff of schools

180. —(1) A board of management shall, from time to time as occasion requires, appoint a person to be responsible for the immediate control and supervision of a children detention school, or more than one such school under its management, and each person so appointed shall be known as the Director of the school or schools concerned.

(2) The appointment of a Director shall be on such terms and conditions as may be determined by the board of management concerned with the consent of the Minister and the Minister for Finance.

(3) A board of management shall, within 10 days after appointing a Director, notify the Minister of the Director's name.

(4) A Director shall not be a member of the board that appointed him or her.

(5) A Director shall perform such functions as may be assigned to him or her by the board of management concerned.

(6) Such functions of a Director as may be specified by him or her from time to time may, with the consent of the board, be performed by such member of the staff of the children detention school concerned as may be authorised in that behalf by the Director.

(7) The functions of a Director may be performed, during his or her absence or when the post of Director is vacant, by such member of the staff of the children detention school concerned as may from time to time be designated for that purpose by its board of management.

(8) Where a child is detained in a children detention school, the Director of the school shall—

(a) have the like control over the child as if he or she were the child's parent or guardian, and

(b) do what is reasonable (subject to the provisions of this Part) in all the circumstances of the case for the purpose of safeguarding or promoting the child's education, health, development or welfare.

181. —(1) A board of management shall appoint such and so many persons to be members of the staff of the children detention school or schools under its management as the board, with the consent of the Minister and the Minister for Finance, from time to time thinks proper.

(2) A member of the staff of a children detention school shall be employed on such terms and conditions (including terms and conditions relating to remuneration and superannuation) as the board of management of the school, with the consent of the Minister and the Minister for Finance, may from time to time determine.

(3) (a)  The class or classes of staff of a children detention school, and the number of staff in each class, and

(b)  the grades in each such class, and the number of staff in each such grade,

shall be determined by the board of management of the school with the consent of the Minister and the Minister for Finance.

182. —Every person who, immediately before the commencement of section 159 , was a Director or member of the staff of a certified reformatory school or industrial school which becomes a children detention school on such commencement shall thereupon become and be a member of the staff of that school.

183. —(1) A person who is transferred under the provisions of this Act to a board of management shall not, while in the service of the board, save in accordance with a collective agreement negotiated with any recognised trade union or staff association, receive a lesser scale of pay or be made subject to less beneficial terms and conditions of service than the scale of pay to which that person was entitled and the terms and conditions of service to which he or she was subject immediately before the day on which he or she was so transferred.

(2) Until such time as the scale of pay and the terms and conditions of service of a person transferred under the provisions of this Act to a board of management are varied by the board, with the agreement of the Minister and the Minister for Finance, following consultation with any recognised trade unions or staff associations concerned, the scale of pay to which he or she was entitled and the terms and conditions of service, restrictions, requirements and obligations to which he or she was subject immediately before his or her transfer shall continue to apply to him or her and may be applied or imposed by the board while he or she is a member of its staff, and no such variation shall operate to worsen the scale of pay or the terms or conditions of service aforesaid applicable to such person immediately before the day on which he or she was so transferred, save in accordance with a collective agreement negotiated with any recognised trade union or staff association.

(3) In this section “recognised trade union or staff association” means a trade union or staff association recognised by the board of management concerned for the purposes of negotiations which are concerned with the remuneration, conditions of employment or working conditions of employees.

184. —(1) As soon as may be after its appointment, a board of management shall prepare and submit to the Minister a scheme or schemes for the granting of superannuation benefits to or in respect of such of the staff (including the Director) of the children detention school or schools under its management as it thinks fit.

(2) Every such scheme shall fix the time and conditions of retirement for all persons to, or in respect of whom, superannuation benefits are payable under the scheme or schemes, and different times and conditions may be fixed in respect of different classes of persons.

(3) A board of management may at any time prepare and submit to the Minister a scheme amending or revoking a scheme previously submitted and approved of under this section.

(4) A scheme or amending scheme submitted by a board of management to the Minister under this section shall, if approved of by the Minister with the consent of the Minister for Finance, be carried out by the board in accordance with its terms.

(5) If any dispute arises as to the claim of any person to, or the amount of, any superannuation benefits in pursuance of a scheme or schemes under this section, such dispute shall be submitted to the Minister who shall refer it to the Minister for Finance whose decision shall be final.

(6) No superannuation benefits shall be granted by a board of management to or in respect of any of its staff (including the Director) who are members of a scheme under this section, nor shall any other arrangement be entered into for the provision of any superannuation benefits to such persons on ceasing to hold office, otherwise than in accordance with a scheme or schemes submitted and approved of under this section.

(7) Superannuation benefits granted under schemes under this section to persons transferred under section 182 and the terms and conditions relating to those benefits shall not be less favourable to those persons than those to which they were entitled immediately before the commencement of this section.

(8) Where at any time during the period beginning on the commencement of this section and ending immediately before the coming into operation of a scheme under this section, a superannuation benefit falls due for payment to or in respect of a person who was transferred under section 182 , the benefit shall be calculated and paid by the relevant board of management in accordance with the scheme or such provisions in relation to superannuation as applied to the person immediately before the day this section comes into operation, and for that purpose that person's pensionable service with the board and previous pensionable service shall be aggregated.

(9) Every scheme submitted and approved of under this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is approved of and, if a resolution annulling the scheme is passed by either House within the next 21 days on which that House has sat after the scheme is laid before it, the scheme shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

Inspection of schools

185. —(1) The Minister shall appoint a person as Inspector of children detention schools.

(2) The Inspector shall hold office under a written contract of service.

(3) The appointment of the Inspector shall be for a term of 5 years, which may be renewed, and shall be subject to such other terms and conditions (including terms and conditions relating to remuneration) as may be determined by the Minister with the consent of the Minister for Finance.

(4) The Minister may at any time remove the Inspector from office where it appears to the Minister that the removal of the Inspector is necessary for the effective performance of the functions of Inspector under this Part.

(5) In subsection (3) “remuneration” includes allowances for expenses, benefits-in-kind and superannuation.

186. —(1) The Inspector shall carry out regular inspections (which shall be at least once every 6 months) of each children detention school and place provided under section 161 , paying particular attention to the conditions prevailing in them, the treatment of children detained there, the facilities available to the children and such other matters as the Minister may direct.

(2) In carrying out an inspection of any such school or place, the Inspector shall also have regard to such matters as—

(a) the morale of the staff and child detainees,

(b) the condition of the facilities provided, including recreational, educational, cultural and linguistic facilities, and of the buildings, and

(c) any general pattern of complaint that may indicate possible inadequacies in the operation or administration of the school or place.

(3) The Inspector may carry out an investigation into any specific aspect of, or any specific issue or incident, connected with, the operation or administration of any such school or place or any specific issue or incident, as he or she thinks appropriate.

(4) The Minister may request the Inspector to investigate and to report to him or her on any such specific aspect, issue or incident.

(5) The Inspector may raise issues of concern to him or her arising out of an inspection or investigation under this section with the Director of the school or managers of the place concerned, the chairperson of the board of management of the school or the Minister.

(6) In carrying out an inspection or an investigation under this section, the Inspector may, with the consent of the Minister, avail himself or herself of the services of any person who has, in the Inspector's opinion, particular experience or knowledge (including medical, legal, academic or other experience or knowledge) of matters relevant to the inspection or investigation.

187. —The Inspector may—

(a) enter any children detention school or place provided under section 161 for the purposes of his or her inspection, and

(b) for those purposes examine such records of the school or place and interview such members of its staff as he or she thinks necessary.

188. —(1) The Inspector shall submit a report to the Minister in relation to any inspection or investigation carried out by him or her under section 186 .

(2) Each such report shall, where appropriate, contain recommendations which in the Inspector's opinion require to be implemented.

(3) A copy of any such report shall be laid by the Minister before each House of the Oireachtas.

(4) Before laying a report before each House of the Oireachtas pursuant to subsection (3), the Minister may omit material from it where the omission is necessary to avoid the identification of any person.

189. —(1) The Inspector shall submit annually, not later than 6 months following the end of the year to which it relates, a report to the Minister on the performance of his or her functions during that year.

(2) The annual report of the Inspector shall be laid by the Minister before each House of the Oireachtas.

(3) Before laying the annual report before each House of the Oireachtas, the Minister may omit material from it where the omission is necessary to avoid the identification of any person.

190. —(1) A visiting panel for children detention schools shall be established as soon as may be after the commencement of this section and shall consist of such number of persons, not being more than 8 or less than 6, as the Minister shall think proper.

(2) The members of the visiting panel shall be appointed by the Minister, and every member so appointed shall hold office as such member for such period not exceeding 3 years as the Minister shall think proper and specifies when appointing the member.

(3) In appointing members of the visiting panel, the Minister shall ensure that persons with knowledge or experience of matters relating to the welfare of children including their cultural and linguistic needs are adequately represented on it.

(4) The Minister may establish at any future time or times one or more than one additional visiting panel should the geographical situation of any of the schools justify such a course.

(5) The Minister may make rules setting out the duties and powers of visiting panels and the manner in which they shall perform the duties and exercise the powers imposed or conferred on them by this Part or by the rules.

191. —(1) A visiting panel appointed under section 190 shall observe such of the rules made by the Minister under that section as apply to it, and, subject to those rules, it shall be the duty of a visiting panel—

(a) to visit each children detention school from time to time and at frequent intervals and there to hear any complaint which may be made to it by any child residing in the school and, if so requested by the child, to hear any such complaint in private,

(b) to report to the Minister any abuses or irregularities observed or found by it in any school,

(c) to report to the Minister in relation to any repairs or structural alterations to any school which may appear to it to be needed, and

(d) to report to the Minister in relation to any other matter relating to any school either as instructed by the Minister or on its own initiative.

(2) A visiting panel and every member thereof shall be entitled at all times to visit either collectively or individually a children detention school in respect of which it is appointed and shall at all times have free access either collectively or individually to every such school and every part of it.

(3) The Minister may request the board of management of a children detention school to instruct the visiting panel to report to that board on any matter relating to the school.

(4) The board of management of such a school shall forward to the Minister any report made to it under this section, together with its views on the report.

(5) Copies of any such report and of the board of management's views on it shall be laid by the Minister before each House of the Oireachtas.

(6) Before laying a report before each House of the Oireachtas, the Minister may omit material from it where the omission is necessary to avoid the identification of any person.

192. —Any judge may visit any children detention school or any place provided under section 161 at any time.

Operation of schools

193. —The Director of a children detention school shall accept any child ordered by a court to be detained in the school, unless the children detention order is, on its face, defective.

194. —(1) Subject to subsection (2), a children detention school shall be open at all times for the reception of children referred to it under this Part.

(2) The Minister may decide that subsection (1) shall not apply in respect of any school or any part of a school for a specified time where he or she is satisfied that, apart from those children who are eligible and suitable for placing out on supervision in the community under section 207 , there are adequate and suitable alternative places available for children during that time in other schools.

(3) Where the Minister makes a decision pursuant to subsection (2), some or all of the children detained in the school the subject of the decision may be transferred to other schools in accordance with the provisions of this Part relating to such transfers or may be placed out on supervision in the community under section 207 , if eligible and suitable for being so placed out.

195. —(1) The Minister shall certify the maximum number of children who may be detained in each children detention school at any time.

(2) The Minister may vary any certificate under subsection (1), or vary any certificate varied under this subsection, where he or she is satisfied that such a variation is justified.

(3) The Minister shall cause a copy of any certificate or variation of any certificate under this section to be sent to the President of the High Court, the President of the Circuit Court, the President of the District Court and the Director of each children detention school.

196. —(1) The Minister shall certify the sex and ages of children who may be detained in each children detention school at any time.

(2) The Minister may vary any certificate under subsection (1), or vary any certificate varied under this subsection, where he or she is satisfied that such a variation is justified.

(3) The Minister shall cause a copy of any certificate or variation of any certificate under this section to be sent to the President of the High Court, the President of the Circuit Court, the President of the District Court and the Director of each children detention school.

197. —The Minister shall decide which children detention schools shall provide any particular courses of specialised treatment which in his or her opinion should be available for children who may be in need of any such treatment and shall cause the President of the High Court, the President of the Circuit Court, the President of the District Court and the Director of each children detention school to be informed accordingly.

198. —(1) A child detained in a children detention school may be transferred to another such school to serve the whole or any part of the unexpired residue of his or her period of detention if—

(a) the school to which the child is transferred caters, in accordance with the provisions of this Part, for that class of child and provides the conditions and facilities necessary for it to achieve its principal object in the case of that child, and

(b) the Directors of the schools from and to which the child is being transferred (or, as the case may be, the Director of a school and the managers of a place provided under section 161 ) agree to the transfer.

(2) Where Directors of children detention schools are unable to agree to a transfer pursuant to subsection (1), the Minister may direct that the transfer shall proceed if he or she considers that the transfer would be in the interests of the child.

199. —The Director of a children detention school shall ensure that each child detained in it shall, as far as practicable, be given the opportunity to receive religious assistance and instruction and the opportunity of practising his or her religion.

200. —If it appears to the Director of a children detention school that a child detained in it requires medical attention that cannot properly be given in the school, the Director shall make arrangements for the child to be received into any hospital or other institution where he or she can receive the necessary attention, and that child, while so absent from the school, shall for the purposes of this Act be deemed to be in lawful custody.

201. —(1) Any child who breaches the rules of a children detention school may be disciplined on the instructions of the Director of the school in a way that is both reasonable and within the prescribed limits.

(2) Without prejudice to the power of the Minister to prescribe limits for the disciplining of children detained in children detention schools, the following forms of discipline shall be prohibited—

(a) corporal punishment or any other form of physical violence,

(b) deprivation of food or drink,

(c) treatment that could reasonably be expected to be detrimental to physical, psychological or emotional wellbeing, or

(d) treatment that is cruel, inhuman or degrading.

202. —(1) The Director of a children detention school may, by order in writing, permit a child to be absent from the school, whether or not accompanied—

(a) for the purpose of attending the funeral of a relative,

(b) for the purpose of visiting a relative who is seriously ill, or

(c) for any other purpose of exceptional importance that the Director thinks proper, being a purpose which the Director considers to be directly associated with the welfare or rehabilitation of the child concerned.

(2) The order shall specify the period for which the child may be absent from the school and the purpose for which it was made.

(3) A copy of the order shall be given to the child at or before the commencement of the absence.

(4) The order may be subject to any conditions, limitations or restrictions that the Director thinks appropriate to impose.

(5) The child to whom a copy of the order is given shall carry the copy at all times during the permitted absence.

(6) A failure, without reasonable excuse, by a child to return to the school when his or her period of permitted absence has expired shall be treated as a breach of the discipline of the school.

(7) A member of the Garda Síochána who detects any child in breach of subsection (6), or of any conditions, limitations or restrictions to which the order permitting the absence is subject, shall so inform the Director of the school concerned and return the child to the school.

(8) The period of a child's permitted absence from a school shall be deemed to be part of the child's period of detention in the school but, if a child fails to return to the school when the period of permitted absence has expired, the time that elapses thereafter shall be excluded in calculating the time during which he or she is to be detained.

203. —(1) The Director of a children detention school may, by order in writing, permit a child to be absent from the school unaccompanied on a recurring basis or on one occasion only—

(a) for the purpose of seeking employment or engaging in employment or obtaining work experience,

(b) for the purpose of receiving additional training or education,

(c) for the purpose of participating in sport, recreation or entertainment in the community, or

(d) for any other purpose conducive to the reintegration of the child into the community.

(2) The Director may at any time before the end of a period of permitted absences under this section cancel the order permitting the absences.

(3) The Director of each children detention school shall keep the board of management of the school informed of the implementation of the board's policy in relation to absences permitted under this section and section 202 .

(4) The provisions of subsections (2) to (8) of section 202 shall, with the necessary modifications, apply in relation to an absence under this section as if it were an absence under that section.

204. —(1) In this section “mobility trips” means authorised absences from a children detention school of children detained therein for the purpose of—

(a) assisting their reintegration into society by promoting their personal and social development, their awareness and appreciation in matters of culture, education and recreation, and

(b) where appropriate, the implementation of any necessary treatment or counselling directions.

(2) Each mobility trip shall be authorised by the Director of the children detention school concerned and shall be granted for a specified period.

(3) During a mobility trip the child shall be accompanied at all times by at least one member of the staff of the school.

(4) Before authorising any mobility trip, the Director shall be satisfied, on the basis of an assessment of the child's suitability for such trips, that the purpose of the mobility trip is appropriate for the child.

(5) The Minister may suspend, for a specified period, mobility trips for a particular child or for any children detention school where he or she is satisfied that they would not be in the best interests of the child or school or of society generally during that period.

(6) Any period specified in subsection (5) may be renewed on as many occasions as the Minister considers necessary until the circumstances that gave rise to the suspension of the mobility trips no longer apply.

(7) Any breach by a child of the rules governing the grant of mobility trips shall render that child ineligible for such trips for such period as the Director may determine.

(8) Absconding while on a mobility trip shall be treated as a breach of discipline of the school.

(9) The Director of each children detention school shall keep the board of management of the school informed of the implementation of the board's rules in relation to the grant of mobility trips.

205. —(1) The Director of each children detention school shall formulate a temporary leave programme for every child detained in the school for whom temporary leave is appropriate and ensure that every such programme is in accordance with the rules of the school's board of management in that regard.

(2) No temporary leave programme shall provide for temporary leave in the first one month of any child's period of detention.

(3) The Director may suspend, for a specified period, the temporary leave programme of any child or of the children in the school concerned where the Director is satisfied that temporary leave would not be in the best interests of the child or school or of society generally during that period.

(4) The Director may alter the temporary leave programme of any child where he or she is satisfied that to do so would be in the best interests of the child or of society generally.

(5) The one-month period referred to in subsection (2) need not necessarily have been served in one children detention school.

206. —(1) A child while on temporary leave shall be in the care of his or her parents or guardian, or of a responsible person, who shall undertake to the Director of the children detention school concerned to supervise the child during the period of temporary leave.

(2) In deciding to grant temporary leave in any case, the Director shall be as satisfied as reasonably possible that the person who has undertaken to supervise the child will do so and, where a child has previously been granted temporary leave, the Director shall take into account how the child was supervised during that leave.

(3) Where a period of temporary leave involves a child being absent from the children detention school for one or more than one night, the child shall reside in the living accommodation of the person who has undertaken to supervise the child or in other accommodation with the prior approval of the Director, and, where that person so agrees, it shall be a condition of the leave that the child remain in that accommodation during a specified period between 7.00 p.m. on any day and 6.00 a.m. on the following day.

(4) Subject to subsection (3), where a child is so absent, a condition of the temporary leave may require the child to remain in the living accomodation of the person supervising the child or in such other accommodation, as the case may be, for different periods on different dates.

(5) Before the commencement of a period of temporary leave in respect of any child, the Director shall arrange for the member in charge of the Garda Síochána station for the area in which the child will reside during the period of the leave to be informed of the child's address, the period of the leave and, where appropriate, the periods during which the child is required to remain at that address.

(6) A member of the Garda Síochána who detects a child in breach of a condition specified in or pursuant to subsection (3) or (4) shall so inform the Director of the school concerned, return the child to the school in which he or she was detained when granted the temporary leave and inform the person who undertook to supervise the child accordingly as soon as practicable.

(7) A child who contravenes the rules governing temporary leave or, as the case may be, a condition specified in or pursuant to subsection (3) or (4) shall be ineligible for further temporary leave for such period as may be determined in accordance with the policy in that regard of the children detention school in which he or she was detained when granted the temporary leave.

(8) A failure, without reasonable excuse, by a child to return to the school on the expiry of the period of temporary leave shall be treated as a breach of the discipline of the school and of the rules governing temporary leave.

(9) The period of a child's absence from a school on temporary leave shall be deemed to be part of the child's period of detention in the school but, if a child fails to return to the school when the period of temporary leave has expired, the time that elapses thereafter shall be excluded in calculating the period during which he or she is to be detained.

(10) On the grant of temporary leave to a child, the Director shall specify in a notice in writing to the child—

(a) the time of commencement and ending of the period of the leave, and

(b) where appropriate, any condition specified in or pursuant to subsection (3) or (4).

207. —(1) Where a child is detained in a children detention school, the Director of the school may at any time, after consultation with the principal probation and welfare officer, authorise the placing out of the child under supervision in the community to reside with his or her parents or guardian or a responsible person who is willing to receive and take charge of the child.

(2) Before authorising a placing out under subsection (1), the Director shall be satisfied that the child will continue to receive appropriate education or training while he or she is placed out and that the placing out conforms to the rules of the school's board of management in that regard.

(3) A child placed out under subsection (1) shall be under the supervision in the community of a probation and welfare officer.

(4) (a)  An authorisation under subsection (1) shall be in writing and be signed by the Director and shall specify—

(i) the name of the person who is willing to receive and take charge of the child, and

(ii) any conditions imposed by the Director which he or she considers appropriate and which are consistent with any rules made by the board of management of the school under section 179 .

(b)  The child shall comply with any conditions so specified.

(5) Where a child is placed out under this section, the Director shall ensure that at the time of the placing out—

(a) the conditions of the child's placing out are communicated in writing to the child, to the person receiving and taking charge of the child and to the probation and welfare officer supervising the child in the community, and

(b) the placing out and those conditions are notified to the member in charge of the Garda Síochána station for the area in which the child will be residing.

(6) A placing out under this section shall be in force until revoked or until the period of detention imposed by the court has expired, whichever is the sooner, and while it is in force the child shall be deemed to be under the care of the Director.

(7) The Director may at any time, after consultation with the principal probation and welfare officer, revoke a placing out where—

(a) he or she has reason to believe that it is necessary to do so for the protection or welfare of the child,

(b) the child, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with a condition imposed under subsection (4) (a) (ii), or

(c) the child is not receiving appropriate education or training,

and order the child to return to the school.

(8) Any child escaping from the person with whom he or she is placed out shall be liable to the same penalty as if he or she had escaped from the school itself.

(9) The period during which a child who is placed out is absent from a school shall be deemed to be part of the child's period of detention in the school but, if a child fails to return to the school when the placing out is revoked, the time that elapses thereafter shall be excluded in calculating the period during which he or she is to be detained.

(10) Where a member of the Garda Síochána has been notified that a child whose placing out has been revoked refuses or fails, without reasonable cause, to return to the school, the member may arrest the child without warrant and forthwith return the child to the school.

(11) Where a placing out of a child has been revoked and the child has returned or has been returned to the school, the Director of the school shall inform the member in charge of the Garda Síochána station for the area where the child resided accordingly.

(12) Where a child is found guilty of an offence committed while placed out, the placing out shall be deemed to be revoked.

208. —(1) Where a child is released from a children detention school on the completion of his or her period of detention, the child may, with his or her consent, be placed under the supervision of a probation and welfare officer if the Director of the school considers, after consultation with the principal probation and welfare officer, that to do so would further assist the child's reintegration into society and help to prevent the child from committing further offences.

(2) Subject to subsection (4), where a child is placed under supervision in accordance with subsection (1), the period of supervision shall continue for as long as the child consents and the probation and welfare officer supervising the child is satisfied that continuance of the supervision is in the child's interests.

(3) The probation and welfare officer supervising the child shall receive whatever assistance is necessary from the Director of the children detention school concerned to enable the officer to supervise the child effectively.

(4) Where a child is found guilty of an offence committed while under supervision in accordance with this section, the continuance of the supervision shall be reviewed by the principal probation and welfare officer.

209. —Where a child is serving a period of detention in a children detention school, the Minister may at any time order the child's release from the school on compassionate grounds if he or she is satisfied on the basis of a report from the Director of the school, after consultation with the principal probation and welfare officer, that exceptional circumstances exist which justify the release.

210. —(1) A child detained in a children detention school may be order of the Director of the school be discharged from detention at any time during the period of 24 hours immediately preceding the time when the children detention order concerned would otherwise terminate.

(2) A child so detained whose detention would, but for this subsection, terminate on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday may, by order of the Director, be discharged from detention on the last preceding day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday.

211. —(1) Where a child is detained in a children detention school, the Director of the school may, on proof to his or her satisfaction that the presence of the child at any place is required in the interests of justice, or for the purpose of any inquest or inquiry, in writing order that the child be taken to that place.

(2) A child taken from a children detention school under this section shall, while outside the school, be kept in such custody as the Director may determine and while in that custody shall be deemed to be in lawful custody.

212. —Where a child is in the care or charge of a responsible person under the provisions of section 206 or 207, the responsible person shall—

(a) have the like control over the child as if he or she were the child's parent or guardian, and

(b) do what is reasonable (subject to the provisions of this Act) in all the circumstances of the case for the purpose of safeguarding or promoting the child's education, health, development or welfare.

213. —(1) The parents or guardian of a child who is detained in a children detention school shall keep the Director of the school informed of their address.

(2) Where a child is transferred pursuant to section 198 , the Director of the school or managers of a place from which the child is transferred shall, where practicable, inform the child's parents or guardian of the transfer, and until the parents or guardian have been so informed their duty under subsection (1) shall be deemed to be duly discharged if they keep the Director of that school informed of their address.

214. —(1) Subject to section 215 , a child in respect of whom a children detention order is in force shall be deemed to be in the lawful custody of the Director of the children detention school concerned while detained in the school and thereafter while being conveyed from or to the school, while placed out under supervision in the community or while on a permitted absence under section 202 or 203 or a mobility trip under section 204 .

(2) Subject to section 215 , a child who is transferred under section 155 to a children detention centre shall be deemed to be in the lawful custody of the person for the time being in charge of the centre from the time the child is transferred to it.

Offences

215. —(1) A child who has been ordered by a court to be detained in a children detention school and who—

(a) escapes while being conveyed to or from the school, or

(b) escapes or is otherwise absent without permission from the school or from any hospital or other institution in which the child is receiving medical attention,

shall commit the offence of escape from lawful custody and may at any time be arrested by a member of the Garda Síochána without warrant and returned to the school or, as the case may be, to the hospital or other institution concerned.

(2) Where a child is found guilty of an offence under subsection (1), the court may order that the period of his or her detention in the school shall be increased by up to 3 months, so however that in no case, subject to section 155 , shall the increased period of detention exceed 3 years.

(3) Where a child who is found guilty of an offence under subsection (1) is between 16 and 18 years of age, any period of detention imposed on him or her may be served in a children detention centre designated under section 150 .

(4) Where a person who is found guilty of an offence under subsection (1) is 18 years of age or more, any period of detention imposed on him or her shall be served in a place of detention provided under section 2 of the Act of 1970 or in a prison.

(5) In calculating the period during which a person who, having escaped, is thereafter liable to be detained, the period during which he or she was absent from the children detention school shall not be reckoned as part of the person's period of detention in the school.

(6) Subject to the foregoing provisions of this section, an escape from a children detention school may be treated as a breach of the discipline of the school.

216. —A person who helps a child to escape or attempt to escape from lawful custody or to abscond from any person with whom the child is placed out on supervision in the community shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £750 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or both.

217. —Any person who knowingly harbours, maintains or conceals a child or otherwise prevents a child from returning to a children detention school or to any person with whom he or she has been placed out on supervision in the community shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £750 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or both.

218. —A person who without lawful authority—

(a) enters or attempts to enter any children detention school, or

(b) communicates or attempts to communicate with any child detained therein,

shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £250 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 months or both.

219. —A person who without lawful authority—

(a) brings or attempts to bring into a children detention school, or

(b) delivers or attempts to deliver to a child in any such school,

any alcohol or other prescribed thing, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £250 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 months or both.

Other matters

220. —(1) The Minister may, subject to subsection (4), by instrument under his or her hand or seal delegate to a named officer of a specified grade, position or description any function of the Minister under this part specified in the delegation and may revoke the delegation.

(2) A delegation of a function under subsection (1) is without prejudice to the right of the Minister to exercise it.

(3) Every delegated function shall be performed by the delegated officer subject to the general superintendence and control of the Minister and to such limitations (if any) as may be specified by the Minister either in the instrument of delegation or at any time thereafter.

(4) Subsection (1) does not apply to a function conferred on the Minister by sections 163 and 221.

(5) In this section “officer” means an officer of the Minister who is an established civil servant for the purposes of the Civil Service Regulation Act, 1956 .

221. —(1) The Minister may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Part and any relevant international instruments to which the State is a party, for or with respect to any matter that is required or permitted by this Part to be prescribed or that is necessary or expedient to be prescribed for giving effect to this Part and, in particular, with respect to—

(a) the promotion of the educational and social development of children detained in children detention schools,

(b) the maintenance of the physical, psychological and emotional wellbeing of such children,

(c) the provision of adequate and suitable accommodation for them,

(d) the control and management of such schools and the maintenance of discipline and good order generally in them,

(e) the inspection and investigation of such schools by the Inspector,

(f) the conduct and functions of the Director and other members of the staff of such schools,

(g) visits and other communications between children detained in such schools and their families, relatives and friends.

(2) Any such regulations may apply generally to children detention schools or apply to one or more than one such school or be limited in their application by reference to specified exceptions or factors or apply differently according to different factors of a specified kind.

(3) The Minister shall cause a copy of any such regulations to be sent to each board of management, who shall comply with them.

(4) The Minister may make regulations analogous to subsections (1) to (3) relating to any place provided under section 161 and for that purpose those subsections shall apply, with the necessary modifications, in relation to any such place.

222. —Where, immediately before the commencement of section 159 , the board of management or trustees of a certified reformatory school or industrial school to which on such commencement subsection (1) of that section applies, or any agent thereof acting on behalf of such a school, is a party to any proceedings pending in any court or tribunal, the name of the board of management appointed to the school under section 164 shall be substituted in those proceedings for the board of management, trustees or agent, as the case may be, and the proceedings shall not abate by reason of the substitution.

223. —Nothing in this Act shall affect the validity of any act that was done before the commencement of section 159 by or on behalf of a board of management or trustees of a certified reformatory school or industrial school to which on such commencement subsection (1) of that section applies, and every such act shall, if and in so far as it had effect immediately before such commencement, have effect on and after the commencement as if it had been done by or on behalf of the board of management appointed to the school under section 164 .

224. —(1) A child who is serving a period of detention in an institution which is a certified reformatory school or an industrial school in accordance with Part IV of the Act of 1908 shall not have his or her period of detention varied by reason only of an alteration of title or description of the said institution.

(2) Where a period of time specified in a provision of the Children Acts, 1908 to 1989, had not expired at the commencement of any corresponding provision of this Act, this Act shall have effect as if the corresponding provision had been in force when the period began to run.