The Irish Ombudsman for Children, Niall Muldoon, has submitted a proposal to raise Ireland's minimum age of criminal responsibility to 14 years, in line with the recommendations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. The submission was made to the Oireachtas’ Joint Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, in relation to the pre-legislative scrutiny that is carrying out on the General Scheme of the Children (Amendment) Bill 2024. This Bill proposes a series of amendments to the Children Act 2001, mainly in relation to extending protections for children who turn 18 before or during the criminal proceedings, to avoid prosecuting them as adults.
This proposal is part of the Office of the Ombudsman for Children’s observations to this 2024 Bill, which also include the recommendation of extending youth justice principles to those up to age 24, including the establishment of separate detention facilities for young adults between 18 and 24. In a statement, the Ombudsman declared that this recommendation is supported by research showing brain development continues into the mid-20s, particularly in areas controlling impulse and decision-making.
Ireland currently allows the prosecution of children as young as 10 for serious crimes like murder and rape, while children aged 12-13 require approval from the Director of Public Prosecutions for prosecution. This places Ireland behind not only UN standards, but also those of EU Member States, where most countries have a minimum age of criminal responsibility of 14 or older.
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties has echoed these concerns in its own submission to the Committee, arguing that raising the age is necessary to meet Ireland's obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.