PROPOSALS TO build a €50 million child detention centre in Lusk, Co Dublin, to end the jailing of children in adult prisons, are being sought by the Office of Public Works.
The opening of the new facility, which is due to be completed by 2015, will end the use of St Patrick’s Institution in Dublin for offenders aged between 16 and 17 years. About 160 under-18s are detained in the prison annually.
Newly published tender documents seek expressions of interest for the construction of six single-storey residential units each with 10 bedrooms, and an educational facility linked to a recreational centre, including a sports hall.
Visiting and medical facilities and a separate admissions and discharge building will also be required.
The centre will be beside the Oberstown child detention school. The existing stores and sports hall building on site will be retained to provide for storage in relation to building maintenance.
A 5.2m steel-mesh security fence is specified as part of the contract and separate tenders will be offered for security gates.
Developers have until the end of August to submit expressions of interest. Invitations to tender for the construction will be issued to suitable developers next December. The facility is to be built over a 25-month time frame.
A State committee of inquiry first recommended the immediate closure of St Patrick’s Institution in 1985 on the grounds it was not possible to rehabilitate young people. Since then, national bodies and international groups have criticised the practice of jailing young people in an adult prison.
