Bill will grant judges power to defer detention for young offenders
Unlike adults, children currently cannot be given a suspended sentence because experts believe children think that they are getting off from sanction and will continue their offending.
However, a new provision known as a deferred sentence supervision order will allow a judge, if they deem detention is appropriate, to defer sentencing for up to a year and put the child under the supervision of the Probation Service.
If the child complies with conditions in the order — such as no further offending and be of good behaviour — a judge can discharge the child at sentencing.
However, if the child does not comply, the judge can order detention at the sentencing hearing and, if the child has turned 18, imprisonment.
The Oireachtas justice committee heard of the new provision during a hearing on three bills, including the Children (Amendment) Bill 2024.
Marisa Gomez, of the Department of Justice, told the committee that the consensus among child and legal experts was that a suspended sentence, on its own, is 'not appropriate' for children as it 'does not give them an opportunity to deal with the consequences' of their offending.
She said the child 'takes it that they are getting out of sanction'. She said they see a suspended sentence as a 'free ticket' and will continue their offending behaviour.
Fianna Fáil TD for Dublin Bay North Tom Brabazon said there needed to be real restorative justice in sanctions applied, where they have to meet the people they have caused serious harm to and 'made understand' what they have done.
He said restorative justice should be part of the diversion scheme for juveniles — where children are diverted from the courts — and in the sanctions imposed on children by courts.
'Plagued' by criminality
He said he knows of cases where ordinary people are 'plagued' by children engaged in criminality and their lives made an 'utter misery'.
A second draft bill, the General Scheme of the Criminal Justice (Violation of EU Restrictive Measures) Bill 2025, relates to Irish implementation of an EU directive on offences relating to sanctions.
The most prominent ones are linked to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The sanctions include asset freezes, travel bans, as well as import/export restrictions, and the provision of financial and other services to sanctioned people or entities.
Both the committee chair, Sinn Féin TD Matt Carthy, and independent senator Lynn Ruane said the bill was supposed to bring consistency in how EU member states treated breaches of sanctions, but was not consistent in the countries targeted — with Israel not on it.
'The concept and principle of restrictive measures is not applied consistently,' Mr Carty said, adding that the EU were currently failing to agree on sanctions on Israel.
Brendan Bruen, of the Department of Justice, said the bill only deals with sanctions where they are already agreed by the EU.
An address on the General Scheme of the National Cyber Security Bill, published last August, provided an overview of the provisions and the EU cybersecurity directive NIS2.
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