The Minister for Education, Dr Woods, has said some £21 million will be allocated by his Department over the next five years to provide custodial places for young offenders.
The Minister was replying to a Dail question from Labour's Mr Emmet Stagg. He had asked the Minister the level of funding, if any, which was available for the Department of Education to fulfil its responsibilities under the Children Bill, 1999.
Dr Woods said the five-year plan envisaged the provision of an additional 24 places for young male offenders and eight extra places for young female offenders. The fundamental objective of the legislation was to achieve "a major advance in the quality and efficiency of the State's response to children with special care needs and those coming into conflict with the law". The Bill was based on the principle that the imposition of custodial sentences on children should be a matter of last resort.