Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 30 January 2019

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs

Oberstown Children Detention Campus Operational Review Report: Discussion

Professor Nick Hardwick:

After the final draft was submitted we had explanations and accounts for why it could not be published. In the process of doing the review, we had this detailed discussion with them and an exchange of correspondence about what the review would cover. Every bit of information or person we met, in the review, we arranged principally through Mr. Bergin. So we would say to him that we would like this information or to see that person and he or his staff very efficiently arranged it for us. At no point did they say, "Why are you seeing him or what is that about?" For instance, there was an occasion where one of the Minister's officials wanted to meet us. We were asked whether we wanted to meet her and we said, "Yes." Our reply was that we did want to because we were particularly keen to discuss and deal with some of the national policy issues here. We flagged what we were looking at and what we were doing. There was never any suggestion that we might be going off track. As I said, we met Mr. Bergin and Professor Kilkelly at various points in the review and told them about what we were finding. Their view was that it was consistent with their own concerns at that point.