Kathleen Funchion backs tougher sentences, urges early intervention
Deputy Kathleen Funchion addressed the challenges facing children in detention and welcomed a bill that establishes a prosecutable offence with a maximum sentence of 10 years. She described systemic failures that lead children into Oberstown and called for strengthened early intervention and support for local programmes.
Committee hearing on Oberstown
She recalled the recent Children's Committee meeting where the incoming chairperson of Oberstown Children's Detention Campus, Miss Cooley Yee Asume, gave evidence. She praised the chairperson's experience and positive attitude and said the committee may visit Oberstown after the recess.
Root causes of detention
She outlined the backgrounds of many children who end up in detention - adverse childhood abuse, trauma, exposure to domestic abuse, parental mental health problems and parental drug or alcohol misuse. She stressed that many children were severely failed by adults or by the system and often came from socially and economically deprived areas.
Support for the bill and sentencing
She welcomed the bill and echoed colleagues who argue that a maximum sentence of 10 years more adequately reflects the seriousness of the offence. She described setting the offence out as prosecutable in its own right as a positive move, while also noting concerns raised by others about the length of time related to the process.
Emphasis on early intervention and local programmes
She argued that early intervention is key for children and highlighted youth diversion work run by local guardians and others. She repeatedly praised the school completion programme as undervalued but highly effective - providing homework clubs, breakfast clubs, play therapy and counselling - and said it can be decisive in keeping children in education.
Funding and policy appeal
She urged the Minister and others to review how small-scale programmes like school completion, which she said run on a shoestring budget, can be better supported to help children and communities. Her remarks linked sentencing policy to the wider need for investment in preventative services and supports for vulnerable families.
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At the Children's Committee recently we had the opportunity to hear from the incoming chairperson of Oberstown Children's Detention Campus, Miss Cooley Yee Asume, and I really hope I'm pronouncing her name correctly, and she comes to the role with a great deal of experience and an extremely positive attitude and I think she'll be really effective in that role and we're hoping and possibly as a committee maybe after the recess to actually visit Oberstown. So we discussed children who find themselves in Oberstown often have adverse childhood abuse, trauma, they've maybe suffered or have been witness to domestic abuse in the home, parental mental health, parental drug and or alcohol misuse, all of which was failed to be addressed throughout their lives. Children found themselves in the majority of cases in a detention centre because they were abused or they were severely failed by an adult or by the system and more often than not they came from socially and economically deprived areas. So basically the odds were against them from the outset. I along with my colleagues welcome this bill and I echo their calls that maximum sentencing of 10 years is more appropriate to adequately reflect the seriousness of this offence. Setting this out as a prosecutable offence in its own right is a positive move and it's about intervening in time and providing the early intervention supports and I think that is really, really key because we are talking about children and early intervention is key. I know that my colleagues will work with my colleagues. I know that I also want to touch on, as I said, early intervention I believe is key and I know that we have programmes like our own local guardian Kilkenny and Carlo have programmes in relation to the youth diversion programme, they are so important and they try to intervene to ensure families and children are supported to live a life with opportunities. I also want to take the opportunity to mention the school completion programme, which I know I do on a regular basis, but I really think they are an undervalued programme that intervene so effectively with children and they are actually very subtle in their approach and it is all about the child and one thing that is very different to their programme from others is that it is based on the child and the child's need because there is a range of situations and they intervene for that child and there could be a case where other services like Tusla it is not appropriate for them to intervene or it is not seen as serious enough for them to intervene but school completion will intervene and help with homework clubs, with breakfast clubs, with other supports, with play therapy, with counselling and it can really be the difference between a child staying in school and accessing education which we know will give them a much, much better outcome. I see I am running out of time already so I do support the bill, I share concerns that others have in relation to the length of time, but I am actually over time now so I will finish with that, but I would just urge the Minister and others to look at programmes like school completion that really run on a shoestring budget and see how they can be supported to support children and communities. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much.
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