Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I want to acknowledge the Government's commitment to the construction of the centre at Oberstown. It is a welcome development. When the former Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, secured the funding for it, I acknowledged that fact. It is only right and proper that when something is being done correctly it is acknowledged, and I have no problem in doing so.

Sometimes there is a difference in the words used. With regard to the phrase "formally handed over", sometimes a project is handed over to the operators when the facility is not yet in operation. Is Oberstown in operation at the moment? Is the building being used to house detainees? If not, when will it do so? Is the Minister confident that sufficient funding has been put by? There has been a reduction in the capital spend, which I accept, and there has been an increase of 11% in current expenditure. Will the increase be sufficient to ensure the facility is adequately resourced and staffed? We know of situations in which people have children and teenagers with psychological issues but, unfortunately, because certain areas are inadequately staffed, these young people have had to be placed in adult facilities. That is something we cannot see happen again.