Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Anti-Austerity Alliance)
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677. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her views on the decision by staff at Oberstown youth detention centre to proceed with industrial action on 31 May 2016. [14585/16]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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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.

In recent years it has been Government policy to end the practice of detaining children in adult prison facilities. In moving towards this goal a series of developments have been put in place. These have included a substantial capital development to provide new and modern facilities at Oberstown, measures to integrate and standardise procedures on the Campus, legislative reform under the Children (Amendment) Act 2015 and the first programme of staff recruitment in over ten years. I acknowledge the contribution of the staff and managers in Oberstown on the progress that has been made in this area.

I understand that the issues of staff safety and training supports are currently the subject of discussion between Oberstown management and staff representatives at the Workplace Relations Commission, following the industrial action which took place on Tuesday 31 May.

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. I am advised that children are assessed daily for all forms of risk and in the light of such assessments the residential care plans for children are reviewed accordingly. The Oberstown Campus has in place a published bespoke behaviour management policy which has been developed in conjunction with the Crisis Prevention Institute of Wisconsin, USA. Policies and procedures are continually reviewed from a safety perspective. 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.

I welcome the fact that the engagement between Oberstown management and staff is now taking place at the Workplace Relations Commission and understand that industrial action has been suspended during this process. I intend to continue to monitor the progress of these discussions, in conjunction with the Oberstown board of management.