IPRT Submission on the Children (Amendment) Bill 2024
19th August 2025
The Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) has made a submission to the Pre-legislative Scrutiny of the Children (Amendment) Bill 2024
IPRT welcomes many of the proposed reforms and highlighting opportunities to further align Ireland’s youth justice system with international human rights standards.
However, this Bill is an opportunity to fully embed children’s rights in the youth justice system. This submission focuses on some critical elements of youth justice arising from the Bill, including the age of criminal responsibility, alternatives to pre-trial detention, community sanctions and ‘ageing out’ of the youth justice system and detention facilities.
IPRT’s recommendations are:
Head 3: Raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility to at least 14 years for all offences.
Head 9: Ensure that children are not remanded to detention where an appropriate alternative, such as a bail supervision order, is available.
Head 19: Retain this provision in line with the Law Reform Commission’s recommendations on suspended sentences.
Head 21:
- Prioritise rehabilitation and reintegration when determining the balance between detention and supervision.
- Require a resumed hearing when a young person turns 18 to assess whether continued detention is necessary.
- Provide for separate accommodation for 18–24-year-olds, distinct from older adult prisoners.
- Extend youth justice principles and protections to young adults up to the age of 24, in line with human rights standards and government policy.
