Madam, - Our abysmal practice of detaining children in St Patrick's Institution for Young Offenders has once again come under international criticism.
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child raised this issue last year and now the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture has rightly expressed concern.
St Patrick's is no place for children, but our justice system throws them into an environment of intimidation, bullying and violence where drugs fall from the sky. Disturbingly, the committee also names St Patrick's as one of the three prisons deemed unsafe for both inmates and prison staff.
The Government will tell you that reform is in hand, but how many more children must endure this outdated, gloomy, depressing environment in the meantime? - Yours, etc,
JILLIAN VAN TURNHOUT,Chief Executive,Children's Rights Alliance,4 Upper Mount Street,
Dublin 2.
Madam, - Two extensive Criminal Justice Acts have been passed in as many years to tackle violent crime.
By contrast, the Prison Rules took 60 years to update, no in-cell sanitation in Mountjoy has been provided for decades, chronic overcrowding and drug use in many of our prisons has blighted the system for almost 30 years. A lack of activity which would not have been tolerated in the 19th century is a feature of prison life for many. The office of the Ombudsman was established in 1980 but its remit has never been extended to prisoners.
The recommendations of the Council of Europe's Committee on the Prevention of Torture deserve immediate implementation. The Government has already proven its ability to move quickly on certain criminal justice matters. It is to be hoped that similar urgency will be applied to the Government's commitments to remedy violence, drug use, overcrowding and idleness in both the prison system and the community at large. - Yours, etc,
MARY ROGAN, Rathmines, Dublin 6.