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uously on its administration and its revision from
time to time as may be necessary in the light of
experience.
2. There are two types of children who may be
committed to a Government Institution: (a) the
child who has committed a crime which requires
his committal to an Institution: (b) a child who
has to be taken into the care of the State by
reason of the failure of his home. We feel that
these two must be accommodated in separate
Institutions (we use the word Institution for the
want of a better one). The reason we think that
this separation should take place is. that the child
who has been committed by reason of some anti
social activities will tend to become a hero in the
eyes of his contcmporaaries at a school and they
will tend to take their values from him rather
than from children with a better orientated sense
of values. The tendancy therefore will be for the
misguided child to influence his fellows rather than
the other way about.
3. Having regard to the fact that every child in
the state is obliged to receive primary education
and is entitled to receive free Secondary education
with its contingent entitlement to University
education, the delinquent or destitute or deprived
child should receive precisely the same education
and, as nearly as possible, in the same circum
stances. Therefore when a child is committed to
a State School for one reason or another he should
be sent to the same type of school as he would
have gone to if he had not been separated from his
home. There seems to be no reason whatsoever
why a child in a State Institution who is of primary
school age should not be sent to the nearest prim
ary school and in the same way, having regard to
the fact that every child in Ireland is now sup
posed to be able to attend a Secondary School
and avail of free transport for the purpose why a
child in a State Institution should not attend the
same school. We believe it is highly undesirable
that children in State Schools should be confined
within State Schools. This will not give them the
same education that their fellows outside will
receive. It may be technically the same but they
have been deprived of the advantage of mixing
with their fellows and they tend to be segregated
and to come out in the world afterwards as dilf-
erent children from those who attend the ordinary
course of education in the National and Secondary
school.
For this reason we believe that children who arc
committed to Institutions should live in these
Institutions but should be transported to outside
Schools for their classes, whether primary or
secondary and not be educated apart from their
fellows outside. If they arc confined all the time
they will tend to develop an Institutionalised
personality and find it extremely difficult to ac
commodate themselves to the world outside after
their education is finished, a world about which
they know nothing whatsoever.
The present system requires that a child be
discharged from the State Institution or School
when he reaches the age of sixteen. This is com
pletely inconsistant with the rights of the child
who is not in a State Institution. Consequently a
child should receive in a State Institution and in a
manner which we have outlined precisely the same
education and the same advantages and the same
opportunities as a child would if he had never
been committed to an Institution. This applies
both to delinquent children and children who arc
committed by reason of family misfortune.
We accept that the existing Institutions will
have to be gradually converted to this system but
we sec no reason why the children in existing
Institutions should not be sent out to the nearest
National or Secondary Schools in the ordinary
way. Subject to that we arc of opinion that the
G.L.C. system of houses with ten to twelve
children and house parents should be adopted as
soon as possible. It gives the children something
akin to family life of which in many cases, and
indeed in most cases, through no fault of their
own they have been deprived.
Until such a system of family houses can be
established the existing homes should be
modernised and made bright and comfortable and
pleasant to live in and while discipline must be
maintained all aspects of spartanism which would
not be found in the ordinary working-class home
should be removed. we feel that the segregation of
the sexes has its disadvantages, and while we
recognise that there may be problems to bs con
tended with where large numbers of children have
to be accommodated in the one School in having
children of both sexes accommodated, yet it is
vital that there should be an influence of the
opposite sex in every School. In particular in boys
Schools, there should be a Matron and possibly
visiting ladies who would provide a confidente
for a group of boys. In this respect we see a great
advantage in the G.L.C. system in that in these
homes of ten or twelve there would presumably
be a mixture of sexes besides the fact that there
would be a house-father and a house-mother. We
feel that the Matron should have some considerable
say in the decoration and organisation of the
amenities of the School so that her influence can