Youth residential care units to open soon
The 38.9 million euro programme will ease the chronic shortage of places highlighted by High Court Judge Peter Kelly, who has repeatedly criticised the State for failing to provide sufficient high support units for children and teenagers who need special care or protection.
The investment will make available more than 70 new residential places for these non-offending children, the first of whom are to be offered places within the next four weeks.
The units that will provide extra places include:
l Ballydowd centre in Lucan, Co Dublin the centre, which housed eight young people before closing for refurbishment earlier this year, will re-open as the main national high support special care unit with 24 places.
l Castleblaney unit in Co Monaghan which will provide another 24 places, and is due to open in September.
l Portrane unit in North Co Dublin, will provide 24 new places and will also open in September.
"I am committed to tackling the problem of children who need special care or protection and I believe these new residential places will go a long way towards that," said Mr Lenihan.
But the trade union, IMPACT, which represents care workers at Ballydowd where staff went on strike last spring following a riot and repeated trouble at the centre, has cautioned against rushing to fill the places.
Assistant general secretary Gerry Dolan said a meeting was planned with centre management this week and some issues surrounding staff safety and conditions remained to be resolved.
"The work is ongoing at Ballydowd. Improvements have been made but it would be a bit premature to say we have arrived yet.
"Building up a relationship between staff and clients is crucial. We want to see the full potential of all residential centres realised for the many young people who need secure, high support care but I would urge moving at a rate that allows clients and staff to acclimatise to a growing client base."
Mr Lenihan acknowledged the problems Ballydowd had encountered finding sufficient properly trained staff to run the centre.
The Department of Health had to recruit many of the new staff, including the director, abroad while they are waiting for those undergoing new training here to graduate.
The minister said the centre would fill the new places on a phased basis, taking in just two children at a time.
"This is to ensure that a proper alternative home environment is created and the children receive the proper psychological support services," he said.
He added while the new places would solve an immediate accommodation problem, his long-term aim was to tackle the root problems that affect these children, in order to stop them ending up within the system of the special support units.
"My aim is to keep as many children as possible out of these units and we will be working with the juvenile liaison officers and with probation officers to see how this can be achieved," he said.
The new Special Residential Services Board will have direct responsibility for this and their job will be to co-ordinate the work done by the juvenile justice services and the residential services.
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