Unfit home for troubled children remains open

A HOME for troubled children is still in use 18 months after social inspectors said it should be closed down as a matter of urgency.

The Victorian building close to Dublin city centre was found unfit for purpose and a potential fire trap, by the independent Social Services Inspectorate (SSI).

The centre, which provides emergency care for homeless teenagers in the east of the country, was originally inspected in May 2004 and again in 2005.

A report published in January 2006 said: “Inspectors have serious concern about the suitability and safety of this building as a children’s residential centre and would recommend relocation as a matter of priority.”

The home was originally set up to provide short-term care to teenagers soon after they became homeless, as an interim measure before they returned to their families or found alternative accommodation.

But the report found that many young people stayed for long periods and recommended that the management should agree a new statement of purpose.

The report found that, in general, “the centre provided a good standard of primary care to the children”, that the standard of education was well met and “food was plentiful”.

The report said the centre had “been through serious difficulties” and while there were good care practices, there were “serious difficulties managing some of the children’s behaviour”.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that a home for troubled children which was closed down because of dangerous and dirty conditions was later used to house Afghan teenagers who held a hunger strike at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin.

The home was closed in March 2006 following an inspection by the independent SSI, which found that staff could not cope with high levels of violence among the three teenage residents.

A report following the inspection said staff did not address concerns for the safety of one teenage resident, who was assaulted on five occasions.

Two months after it was closed due to poor conditions, the home was reopened to house two Afghan teenagers who had been part of a group of 41 Afghan hunger strikers protesting at the slow pace of Ireland’s asylum system.

The two boys, aged 17 and 18 were believed by authorities to be different cases to the three Irish teenagers who had been housed there previously, because they were older.

A second home that was closed down because of poor conditions has now reopened, housing a different set of teenagers.

The home was closed but the building is now used to house staff and residents of another home that was in a poorer physical condition.

There are currently 72 troubled teenagers in residential care centres, which cost €30 million a year to run.