The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) is set to appear before the Oireachtas joint committee on justice, migration and home affairs this afternoon to contribute to pre-legislative scrutiny of the Children (Amendment) Bill 2024.

Claire McEvoy, head of research and policy, and Seán Egan BL, procedural rights fellow, will tell the committee that Ireland is out of step with international standards in relation to the treatment of children who have been accused of crimes.

ICCL previously made a written submission to the committee, arguing that the draft bill does not go far enough to protect the rights of children in the criminal justice system.

The NGO argues that the age of criminal responsibility must be at least 14 for Ireland to meet its obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).

It would also align Ireland with other European countries, with Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Czechia and Finland having an age of 15 and Italy of Spain having an age of 14.

ICCL will also tell the committee that it supports the move to extend anonymity to children who turn 18 during criminal proceedings, in line with the recent Supreme Court ruling in DPP v PB. This will uphold privacy rights to facilitate young people’s rehabilitation and reintegration into society.

It will further recommend that the committee include an explicit requirement for the director of public prosecutions (DPP) to consider the “best interests of the child” when deciding whether to prosecute a minor for an offence.

ICCL will also call for the adoption of the Dublin Children’s Court model — which has specialist judges and a child-centred approach — across the State, as called for by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in 2023.