Professor Ursula Kilkelly:

I was appointed as chairman of the Oberstown board on 1 June, having been interim chairman over the previous few months and having served on the board of management for four years. I have seen two things at first hand. One is the extraordinary challenge which we have heard about this morning. As somebody who has spent 20 years in this field I can testify to that challenge, across and around the world, in how we manage these kinds of facilities and the kind of work that has to go into them. The second thing I have witnessed is an extraordinary ability to reflect, adapt, change and respond positively. We must acknowledge the extraordinary work that is ongoing in Oberstown, from staff and from management, to ensure this is the best possible opportunity that young people sentenced to remand can receive. A minor illustration of this relates to such things as agency staff. Critical decisions have to be made around staffing the units properly where that staffing does not exist. We have to take those kinds of difficult decisions when the time comes, and it is not what anybody would like, but we have to balance those issues as we go through.

I wish to reflect on the uniqueness of the board of management of Oberstown. We have a very unique entity and form of governance that very firmly holds management to account but also supports the delivery of the objectives that Oberstown seeks to achieve on behalf of the State in the development and implementation of law and policy. That is our core mission. We have all the major stakeholders on our board. I am chairman and we have local representatives, two nominees from staff and representation from the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, the Department of Education and Skills and from Tusla. In addition there are five members who are appointed through the public appointments system, bringing together very important expertise in governance, human resources, child law and finance. We now have, for the first time, a unique but well-equipped board to deliver on the mission of Oberstown in holding management to account and ensuring everything is done to make this organisation a success. The unique nature of the entity should also provide reassurance in the level of oversight and the level of investment by individual board members.

We have not touched at all on the industrial relations processes. This relates to the points that were made about the concerns of staff, the extent to which they are raised at board level, and the extent of engagement in the Workplace Relations Commission and other separate processes to hear the concerns of staff, address them directly and work with staff in acknowledging those concerns and, critically, how we respond while upholding the ethos that Oberstown represents. It is much the easier and cheaper, as we all know, to imprison young people, but it is a failure on the part of the State. What we are trying to do is much more ambitious. We must leave no stone unturned in how we do that. Having worked very closely with the management and staff and having been on the board the number of years I have been there, particularly as chairman, I am very confident that every opportunity is taken to do the right thing in the context of staff and in the context of providing the best possible service for young people with the best support we can provide.

Extraordinary strides have been made in the level of service that is provided in bringing the education and the vital health pieces together.

I am keen to make one comment in reflecting on recent months and the extent of the changes we have heard about. It is clear that there are different views about the way Oberstown should be run, whether certain particular practices should continue, what policies should prevail and so on. It will simplify matters. It comes down to different emphases, whether on a security focus, a care focus or a welfare focus, and it is not a question of one or the other. We have to provide care within a secure ethos and that is very challenging. If we can do that, it will be a significant statement for Ireland. My commitment is to do it. In the international context, everyone recognises this as a challenge, an ambitious but laudable one.

I wish to reflect on the different views. Having listened to staff directly, the unions - through the Workplace Relations Commission process - and the board, I came to the opinion that we needed a process which would provide an outside view of Oberstown. The idea is that this view from outside would help us to empower staff, listen to the experiences of staff and the young people and to review and reflect on what we are doing. In addition this perspective could provide expert input into our continued development. That is the basis of the review that has been commissioned and which will be undertaken in the coming months. It will be very much an inclusive supportive process for staff as well as one focused on the young people and their experiences. The perspective of outsiders looking in, people with expertise in this area, should provide further assurance that we are doing everything we can to make this a success.

A point was made about what people see when they come to Oberstown. I have been in and out of the facility many times. In my experience, there are not two sides to this. It is what it is. Every access will be granted. It is in no one's interests that we should in any way attempt to put forward only some kind of best view of it. There is only one view and it is what will be on offer to the committee. I am keen to welcome members to the campus to see the facility for themselves, to engage with staff and young people and to continue to ask questions. I thank members for their continued support for Oberstown as a piece of work in the interests of the young people who are there.