The Gazette 1967/71

find around us now. For these reasons it seems to us that the whole system must be rebuilt from the ground up. As far as young people are concerned, one of the great features of present day society is that every body is obliged to accept primary education up to fourteen years of age and is entitled to receive Secondary education up to Leaving Certificate standard and may if he is suited receive University Education thereafter to such extent as he may be intellectually equipped to avail of it. Because a child has been deprived of his home for one reason or another is no reason at all why he should be at the same time deprived of these advantages. On the contrary there is every reason why he should get these advantages in full because he lacks the advantages of a home environment and all the benefits which that can bring. The argument is even stronger in the case of the juvenile delinquent who, because of some inherent defect in his character or because of a bad home environment has fallen on evil ways has all the more demands to make upon Society to provide him with an education which will rectify these defects if it is possible to do so. It follows from these arguments that the child who is deprived of his home environment and its advantages whether by reason of delinquency or by reason of the break up of a home for one reason or another, must receive not only as good an education and as advantageous an education as his counterpart, who has not suffered from these disadvantages, but even better. The system must be designed, not only to pro vide these advantages which he misses, but also to provide counter-weights against the resultant ill effect on his character and personality. The designing and planning of a suitable system to deal with these matters call for the assistance of a team of experts in education, child psychology and sociology. While we cannot make claim to any of these qualifications we may make recommenda tions which appeal to us as commen-sense laymen and which we accept may be subject to revision in the light of such advice as may be received from such a team when established. The recommenda tions which occur to us are as follows: 1. The appropriate Government Department whether Education or Justice should immediately set up a permanent team of experts who would not alone advise the Government on the steps to be taken and the provisions to be made to meet this problem at the initiation but would also continue in permanent session to advise contin- 8

appeal the Circuit Court by a person aggrieved by a reinstatement, notice of a demand for recovery of expenses by a housing authority. Section 71 (4) (5) (6) (7) and Section 72 of the Housing Act 1966 would apply to a charging order made under the new act when passed so that a charging order will be registered in the Registry of Deeds or Land Registry and an appeal wilf lie against the charging order to the Circuit Court. The bill is part of housing policy aimed at maintaining the supply of habitable housing accommodation by controlling change of user even by owner-occupiers and enabling the housing authorities to require a person effecting a change of use to aid in the financing of new accommo dation which would also fall on central or local funds or on the resources of lending institutions. When the bill becomes law members acting for purchasers may have to make some additional enquiries as to its effect upon titles of premises, both residential and commercial. The Act is to continue in operation until 31st December 1972 and will then expire unless continued in force by an order made under Section 13. MEMORANDUM ON REFORMATORY AND INDUSTRIAL SCHOOLS IN IRELAND A Sub-Committee of the Council prepared the following Report which has been submitted to the Committee on Reformatory and Industrial Schools. The existing system of dealing with destitute children and juvenile delinquents finds its origin in another century almost. The philosophical and economic theory of the time of its birth would not find acceptance today. There was no free Secon dary education, there was even no free primary education. Attendance at primary schools did not become compulsory until the 1920's. Economic theories were based on the minimum interferancc with private enterprise, and the free play of the interaction of supply and demand was regarded as fundamentals. None of these theories find any place, or at least very little place in the society in which we live today. Therefore institutions which were created in such an atmosphere cannot fit into our present civic arrangement. It is of no consequence whether one subscribes to the earlier period or the modern period. Any system of child welfare or reform must be adjusted to the society which we to