Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I join the Chairman in welcoming Professor Kilkelly and take the opportunity to wish her every success in her new responsibilities. I note from her goals referencing the cohort of those young people who find themselves, for whatever period of time, under the shelter of Oberstown that they will enjoy their right to be safe, to enjoy health care and educational rights, to be supported to accept responsibility for their behaviour and to be heard and respected. I absolutely agree. That is hugely important and the regime in place must seek to achieve all those important and worthwhile goals at all times.

As this is probably the last meeting of this committee in advance of the Dáil term coming to a close, I can say to Professor Kilkelly that this committee, across all political opinion, has had a strong interest in the issue of youth detention and in focusing on Oberstown which, as the Chairman indicated, we have visited and we continue to maintain a considerable interest in the affairs at Oberstown, in oversight and in the regime in place.

With regard to better equipping of young people, it is not only in terms of their time in Oberstown, with which I concur. Better equipping them to lead meaningful, constructive lives into the future is not just of equal importance but is arguably of even greater importance. We must try to address the issue of recidivism in regard to these young people aged up 17. I am not expecting a detailed answer but in terms of post-release care paths and supports, what State agency service would take an interest in the released young person at whatever age in their lives? We would recognise that post-release, the care supports are essential.

Professor Kilkelly spoke in terms of better care for the young people, and we have reflected that, and care for staff. That is an area of great concern because with the transfer of the greater number, if not all at this point, from St. Patrick's Institution - I believe we are still waiting for the Wheatfield cohort to be transferred - it has come to our attention that the numbers of staff are not adequate to cater to the growing demand and that there is some question regarding the level of training and preparation in dealing with that older age group of under 18s. Heretofore, they would not have been in the 17 year old age group.

These are young adults at this point in their lives. They are physically stronger, are mentally more assertive and all the other aspects to their make-up and character have developed considerably. The consequence is reflected in the parliamentary reply I received last week indicating there were 102 incidents of notifiable assault in Oberstown between 1 December 2014 and 30 November 2015. This resulted in 65 individual employees being absent from their service for periods of time. If one considers that 242 staff members are employed, or 219 whole-time equivalents, this means considerably more than one quarter of the entire staff complement has been missing in whatever number or combination to a totality of 3,005 working days over that time. This is a colossal figure by any standard and must result in a serious and perhaps even a fearful situation for some, whereby the necessary supports are not in place for staff where a serious incident might present.

In the course of the visit by the joint committee, some concerns were expressed by staff members regarding the alarm system for signalling that something was wrong and the time it takes for others to come to be of assistance and to help. While the focus always must be on the children, the staffing situation is of huge importance and I welcome Professor Kilkelly's indication that a significant recruitment process is under way. However, can she inform members as to how soon she expects to see the appointment of the 45 new residential care workers? Have any of them taken up their positions? Professor Kilkelly has acknowledged that additional staffing is central to the quality of the care and is essential to the opening of the additional units. Can she tell members the current position regarding the coming on stream of the additional units? Have the physical works concluded? On the training issues, I note there were difficulties and the proposition in respect of engaging with existing staff did not work well because of the timing. While Professor Kilkelly will be familiar with all this, I would be grateful if she could offer members additional information on these matters. May I conclude by sincerely wishing Professor Kilkelly well? It is not a new role but is a continuing role for her as she has been in this position for some time. I hope that whoever will make up the membership of this committee on health and children in the new Dáil will continue the important and relevant interest this committee has shown in Oberstown in recent years.