(1)Subject to the provisions of this section, where a person ordered to be detained in a young offenders centre has attained the age of twenty-one years, the Minister may transfer him to prison.
(2)No person shall be detained in a young offenders centre after he has attained the age of[F1 twenty-four], and accordingly any person so detained shall, not later than the day immediately preceding his[F1 twenty-fourth] birthday, be transferred to prison; but this subsection shall not apply to any person who is detained in a young offenders centre—
Para. (a) rep. by 1976 NI 4; 1980 NI 10
(b)in pursuance of an order made by a court under …F2 [F3 …F2 Article 3 of the Treatment of Offenders (Northern Ireland) Order 1976 [1976 NI 4] ].
(3)Where a person has been transferred to prison under this section, he shall be treated for the purposes of the Prison Act and this Act as if the order for detention made in relation to him were a sentence of imprisonment or an order of committal, and as if he had been detained in prison from the date on which his sentence began to run or, as the case may be, of his committal.