88A. (1) The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs may direct the transfer of a child remanded to a remand centre to another remand centre for the remainder of the child’s period of remand if the remand centre to which the child is to be transferred provides the conditions and facilities suitable for the custody of children who are remanded under section 88 and—

(a) the remand centre to which the child is to be transferred caters in accordance with the provisions of this Part for that class of child, or

(b) the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs considers that the transfer is necessary in the interests of good governance of remand centres.

(2) Before giving a direction under this section, the Minister shall consult the Director, or where a remand centre is not situated in a children detention school, the board of management, of the remand centre from which and to which it is desired to transfer the child so as to ascertain whether the transfer would be in the child’s best interests, or if the transfer would not be in the child’s best interests, what other course of action should be adopted in respect of the child.

(3) The Director, or where the remand centre is not situated in a children detention school, the board of management, of the remand centre to which the child was remanded may request the Minister to make a direction under subsection (1).

(4) In this section—

(a) a reference to a Director of a remand centre means a reference to the Director, within the meaning of section 180, of the children detention school in which the remand centre is situated, and

(b) a reference to a board of management of a remand centre means the board of management appointed under section 88(9) to manage the remand centre.]