Home > Criminal Justice (Engagement of Children in Criminal Activity) Act 2024.

Guiney, Ciara (2024) Criminal Justice (Engagement of Children in Criminal Activity) Act 2024. Drugnet Ireland, Issue 89, Autumn 2024, pp. 30-31.

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The Criminal Justice (Engagement of Children in Criminal Activity) Act 2024 was enacted on 11 March 2024.1 The purpose of the Act is to provide for offences relating to the engagement of a child in criminal activity. Section 2 of the Act addresses engagement of children in criminal activity, while Section 3 makes amendments to the Schedule of the Bail Act, 1997.

Section 2
·       Under Section 2(1) of the Act, an adult who ‘compels, coerces or directs … or deceives the child’ for the purpose of engaging them in criminal behaviour shall be guilty of an offence (p. 1).

·       Under Section 2(2) of the Act, an adult who ‘induces or invites, or aids, abets, counsels or procures the child’ for the purpose of engaging them in criminal behaviour shall be guilty of an offence (p. 2).

·       Under Section 2(3) of the Act, an adult can be convicted of an offence regardless of whether the child:

  • Engaged in the criminal activity
  • Intended to engage in the criminal activity
  • Has been prosecuted or found guilty of the offence of criminal activity.

·       Under Section 2(4), any person found guilty of this offence will be liable:

  • On summary conviction to a Class A fine or imprisonment for up to 12 months or less, or both
  • On conviction on indictment to a fine or imprisonment for a term up to five years, or both.

Section 3
Under Section 3, the Schedule of the Bail Act, 1997 was amended to include an insertion after paragraph 44:

‘Offences under the Criminal Justice (Engagement of Children in Criminal Activity) Act 2024

45. An offence under the Criminal Justice (Engagement of Children in Criminal Activity) Act 2024.’

Conclusion
The passage of this legislation was welcomed by Minister for Justice Helen McEntee TD and Minister of State for Law Reform James Browne TD.2 It fulfils two Programme for Government commitments, which are (a) to provide legislation to prevent children from being coerced into the selling and supplying of drugs and addresses the issue of grooming children to partake in criminality, and (b) to criminalise adults who are responsible for grooming children to do so.

It also fulfils objectives in the Youth Justice Strategy 2021–2027.3

Minister Browne stated that it ‘falls on us to protect the children of Ireland’ and it was only right to make ‘punishable the harm caused to children by drawing them into a life of crime’
(p. 2).2 He went on to say that the legislation will make it ‘possible to prosecute the adult for both the crime that is committed by the child and for the harm done to the child’ (p. 2).2 He also believed that this is a ‘huge step in the right direction’ (p. 2).2

Minister McEntee acknowledged Minister Browne’s work in developing and steering the legislation through the Oireachtas along with the extension to the Greentown Programme.4

She believed that ‘it marks another step as we strive to deliver on our commitment to criminalise those who target some of the most vulnerable in our society, our children and young people, in order to commit offences’ (p. 3).2
She added that:

This legislation will be an effective tool for tackling organised crime. It will also protect children from the harmful effects of crime on their lives, their families’ lives and futures as citizens who are properly equipped to benefit fully from all that society has to offer (p. 3).2


1    Criminal Justice (Engagement of Children in Criminal Activity) Act 2024. Available from: https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2024/act/8/enacted/en/pdf

2    Department of Justice (2024) Press release: Minister McEntee and Minister Browne welcome passage of legislation to combat grooming of children for the purposes of crime. Available from: https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/40602/

3    Department of Justice (2021) Youth justice strategy 2021–2027. Dublin: Department of Justice. Available from: https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/34061/

4    Department of Justice (2024) Press release: Minister McEntee extends Greentown Programme for further three years. Dublin: Department of Justice. Available from: https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/40398/

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