If we are to change young offenders, we must reform our flawed system

No child reached the point of criminality which will lead them to Oberstown without our system already knowing about them. So what can we, as aState and as a people, do better?

Niall Muldoon

I am delighted that the management and unions in Oberstown Detention Campus are once again discussing how to agree the way forward for industrial relations in the centre. While I am hopeful that a resolution can be found for all of those involved at Oberstown, I feel that this issue has raised some real questions about considering alternatives to detention, so that children and young people receive services sooner rather than later.

Preventing children from entering the youth justice system needs to be a priority from the very first time that a child interacts with the system across health, education and justice. The first time a child comes into school without food, or they miss days without reason or they are reported as at risk of abuse or a concern for risk-taking behaviour - these are all opportunities for society to help them recover and it is our duty to protect them at those points.