Thirty years after its closure was recommended “the finishing school for bullying and developing criminal skills” is to finally shut its doors once legislation introduced in the Seanad is implemented.
St Patrick’s Institution, originally established as a borstal for male offenders aged 16-20, has been the source of national and international criticism for decades.
In 1985, a committee chaired by Dr T K Whitaker issued a report recommending its closure, described the dominant feature of St Patrick's as "boredom and demoralisation" and said that even with renovation it could not provide "human and morally acceptable" facilities and services.
Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald introduced the Prisons Bill to "facilitate the complete closure" of the institution and also quoted former Inspector of Prisons Mr Justice Dermot Kinlen.
He described the prison in his 2004 and 2005 reports as the “finishing school for bullying and developing criminal skills”.
Following a Government decision in 2013 to close St Patrick’s, offenders under 18 years old were transferred to Oberstown although some were remanded “on rare occasions” at St Patrick’s while waiting for places at Oberstown, a youth detention centre.
Those aged 18-20 were transferred on an interim basis to Wheatfield. Until now “it has been necessary to retain St Patrick’s institution on a contingency basis for remands awaiting places in Oberstown”, the Minister said.
While there has been a partial closure of the prison, the Prisons Bill has to be implemented for complete closure which will allow St Patrick’s buildings to be designated part of Mountjoy prison next door.
Ms Fitzgerald said the Bill “will allow us to place the young people who need it in a secure environment, which I hope will offer them a second chance” to be productive people who can contribute to society.
New approach needed
Fianna Fáil’s Diarmuid Wilson, who warmly welcomed the Bill, said it was a “great shame that approximately 800 people under the age of 26 are incarcerated in prisons”. He said a new approach needed to be taken to address young offenders to ensure their rehabilitation rather than incarceration.
Fine Gael's Martin Conway, part of a delegation from the Oireachtas justice committee to visit the institution, said the Bill was necessary as a technical "tidying up exercise" of a number of Acts to remove references to St Patrick's.
Independent Senator Jillian van Turnhout described the Bill as an “historic day for children’s rights, juvenile justice and the progressive reform of our penal policy”. But she said it did not mean the end of detention of children in adult prisons.
Since March all newly remanded 17-year-olds go to Oberstown but those sentenced go to Wheatfield “which is unsuitable for their needs” and 13 boys of 17 years of age are currently in Wheatfield prison. She also expressed concern about violent and intimidatory incidents between residents at Oberstown.
Seanad deputy leader Ivana Bacik (Labour) said the decision "is hugely progressive in terms of penal reform policy and children's rights" and asked when the Bill would take effect as it is expected to finish in the Dáil next week.
Sinn Féin’s Trevor Ó Clochartaigh also welcomed the legislation but highlighted the findings of a Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) report in February that Oberstown met just one of 10 standards – education – assessed. Six standards required improvement and the failure to meet three others presented “significant risk”.
