No beds left in U16s detention centres
The State’s detention centres for under-16s do not have any sentence places available at present, the Dublin Children’s Court heard yesterday.
A 15-year-old north inner city Dublin boy was before the court awaiting sentence in relation to a spate of motor theft related charges. He is being held in custody on remand in Oberstown Boys’ Centre, in Dublin, pending sentence.
However, his sentencing could not proceed today because all of the country’s detention centres for his age group were full.
The teen is in Oberstown Boys’ Centre in the remand section of the facility.
Judge Catherine Murphy was told that there were not any sentence places available in Oberstown Boys’ Centre, or Trinity House Detention Centre or at the Finglas Children’s Centre.
She adjourned the case until Friday pending attempts to establish when a sentence bed would become available.
“This is regrettable,” she said, adding: “..when we are told how wonderful this new system is.”
