Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Anne Rabbitte for raising this issue. It is our first exchange and I appreciate her contribution. We are at one in our concern about the ethos of which she spoke.

As Minister with responsibility for children and young people, I am committed, first and foremost, to the provision of an appropriate, safe and secure environment for children in custody on the Oberstown campus. These children are cared for by staff who deserve to have a safe working environment.

I can tell from Deputy Rabbitte's remarks that we would agree that detention is intended to be a last resort for children. It is justified when it works effectively for both the children who are detained in Oberstown and the personnel who are responsible for their care.

It has been Government policy in recent to end the practice of detaining children in adult prison facilities. This policy has had cross-party support. Until now 17 year old boys serving a sentence have been sent to prison, but later this year we will finally end this practice. They will instead be sent to Oberstown. It is not a prison. It is a children detention centre. To achieve this, we are recruiting additional care staff, as Deputy Rabbitte refers. I hope all Members of this House and our predecessors who have advocated for an end to the detention of children in adult prisons will take comfort in that fact that we have moved to a more enlightened way of working with children in custody. In recent years a reform programme has been under way to make this a reality and I acknowledge the contribution of our staff in Oberstown and thank them for that. They have played a key role in delivering this change.

In addition, there has been a substantial capital investment programme in new detention buildings, the gradual transfer of responsibility for older boys to the site, legislative reform under the Children (Amendment) Act 2015, and the first programme of staff recruitment on the campus in a number of years. Important governance reforms have also been undertaken, including the establishment of shared services across the campus, a single human resource team and training office under a single campus director.

The issues that have been mentioned in the current industrial dispute, and Deputy Rabbitte referred to several of them, include effective practices for managing the behaviour of children in custody, staff safety, the management of the transition of children from the adult prison system to Oberstown and the design of new detention buildings. I welcome that management and staff are now engaging on these and other issues at the Workplace Relations Commission. I intend to monitor closely the progress of discussions, but Deputies will appreciate that this dispute has to be resolved through direct engagement between the parties. It is my sincere hope that there will be no further recourse to industrial action while the conciliation process at the Workplace Relations Commission is under way. In particular, as I am sure Deputy Rabbitte agrees, I hope that children in Oberstown who are facing into exams can concentrate on these without other distractions.

An adult prison and a children detention school are based on different foundations. In Oberstown, there is an emphasis on training in behaviour management programmes that de-escalate and, where possible, avoid crises involving the behaviour of children. I condemn any and all incidents resulting in assault and injury to staff. There is no acceptable level of violent behaviour in a children detention school. Children are assessed daily for all forms of risk, and policies and procedures are continually reviewed with the aim of ensuring safe and secure custody for children and the safety of staff. Unfortunately, the risk of injury cannot be excluded completely given the nature of a children detention school. A specific employee assistance programme is in place to assist members of staff on foot of any such incident where required. Staff are fully supported where incidents have to be investigated by the Garda authorities.

The original physical design of the new units was developed through a series of consultative meetings with both staff and management in the children detention school. The consensus design recommendations were taken on board. Work is ongoing to address lessons learned from the operation of the new facilities over the first 12 to 15 months of their use. I assure the House that health and safety issues are a top priority for the campus, and further works are planned with the assistance of the Office of Public Works to enhance physical and building security.

I am describing the scale of the reform programme that is under way in Oberstown. There is a need for time, a supportive policy climate, an adequate level of resources and continued staff and management engagement to bed down the reforms and to ensure the new Oberstown campus operates successfully into the future. A positive work climate for staff on the Oberstown campus in the future is an absolute necessity. I am committed to this and to a future for children in custody that is modern and that serves children and society well.

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