Measures for child defendants that aim to make “complex” legal procedures more child-friendly are to be rolled out this year.
A report published by the Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO) on Wednesday found that child defendants did not always understand what was being asked of them or said about them while in court.
The office said the Department of Justice proposed a new court accompaniment service after it raised concerns last March on foot of hearing the experiences that children at Oberstown Children’s Detention Centre had during court proceedings.
The service will be rolled out in more than 100 youth diversion projects across the State this year and be available to all young people before the courts.
The court accompaniment is not an advocacy role, but they will accompany child defendants, provide informal support and explain in lay terms what is happening at various stages of proceedings.
Having spoken to children detained at Oberstown, the OCO said some expressed feeling anxious when communicating with legal professionals or gardaí.
One child said she agreed to bail conditions she “didn’t fully understand”. Advocates working with children in Oberstown warned a lack of understanding of bail conditions can lead to increased rates of reoffending.
Another child who recalled receiving extra supports in primary school to help him understand certain subjects said he could not fully understand what was being said in court.
On average, 1,000 children are before the courts each year, according to the OCO, which outlined concerns that the experiences of children in Oberstown may be replicated throughout Ireland and “that the rights of these children to informed understanding and participation in the court and legal process are not being vindicated”.
Its research found that 41 per cent of the children in Oberstown were in the care of the State, through Tusla, or had significant involvement with Tusla before detention, while a further 19 per cent were from the Traveller community.
The OCO argued the State has a “significant responsibility” to ensure special measures are taken to ensure these children’s right to meaningful participation “is met with due regard to this vulnerability”.
Nuala Ward, director of investigations at the OCO, described the lack of an accompaniment service for child defendants until now as “not fair”.
Ms Ward welcomed the “positive and child-centred response” from the department, saying: “We hope these changes will bring about positive improvements for children.”
