Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I hope a deal is done on Brexit, and I hope it means that a general election is imminent because there are so many issues that are not benefiting from the current arrangements. I want to deal with one such issue, namely, child protection. As the Taoiseach knows, Oberstown was in the news again at the weekend when the real reason for the non-publication of the Goldson-Hardwick operational review, which was concluded almost two years ago, was revealed. I remind the House that the operational review was commissioned on foot of a number of serious incidents, including a virtual riot by young people, a major fire that caused €3.5 million worth of damage, strike action, health and safety concerns and behaviour management concerns. It is worth pointing out that since the Goldson-Hardwick report was concluded, there have been further serious incidents, including one last year which required armed gardaí to be called. High Court proceedings looking into the unlawful use of restraints and solitary confinement at Oberstown are under way.

All of this relates to a facility which deals with the most vulnerable and troubled young people in the State. Over half of them have lost one or both parents. Some 42% of them are at serious risk. They have drugs and alcohol problems. They are not going to school. They are in care and so on. It is hardly surprising that the authors of the report said that they have grave concerns about what they learned and that it is in the public interest for the report to be published. It is a sad irony that the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs justified the non-publication of the report on the grounds that she was not convinced that fair procedures had applied. To whom should fair procedures apply? It certainly is not fair to the many children who received extended prison sentences of up to five years for their role in these disturbances that a report on the circumstances leading up to the incident has not been published. It is not fair to Professor Goldson and Professor Hardwick, who are consummate professionals who checked and rechecked. To this day, they have not been given legal information on why the report has not been published. I have to say that if these academics were based in Ireland, they would not be treated like this. Instead, the beneficiaries of fairness were the board and some of the staff in Oberstown who threatened legal action and resignation. They got away with it. They succeeded in intimidating the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. In other words, those responsible for the operation that was being reviewed blocked the publication of the report.

Sadly, this is not an isolated incident. It was revealed to me this week that another report involving very serious child protection concerns has not been published. This report relates to social work services in the midlands. My questions are quite straightforward. Will the Taoiseach provide an assurance that this review, which was commissioned for publication, will be published? More importantly, what will the Taoiseach do about the fact that it looks like two major organisations under the aegis of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs are incredibly comfortable with giving the two fingers to the Minister and the Department so that they can carry on doing whatever they like? Unfortunately, the two organisations in question are charged with protecting our most vulnerable children. The report that came to light earlier in the week, when we found out that it might not be published, involves a young person who is in a serious harm situation. Social workers were notified of this over a period of ten years.

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