Children in detention cost over €200,000

NO inspections have been carried out at three of the State’s detention centres for children since 1999, despite a legal requirement they should be inspected on an annual basis.

It also emerged from the C&AG report that the average cost for each detainee was over €200,000.

Despite inspectors concluding that one of only two centres inspected was in “acute crisis”, the Department of Education told the C&AG there was no indication of difficulties in the other facilities.