€14k a week to keep a child in care
The weekly cost of keeping a child in care in a HSE-run home such as a special care unit (SCU) is €5,000, almost €10,000 less than using a private contractor.
Yet inspection reports of HSE-run homes for troubled children show they have spare bed space and are almost never occupied to capacity. Inspection reports of SCUs recently published by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) show three SCUs — Gleann Álainn in Cork, Coovagh House in Limerick, and Ballydowd in Dublin — are not fully occupied. Ballydowd in Lucan, a custom-built 24-bed unit open since 2000, and now deemed unfit for purpose, has never housed a full complement. Staff recruitment and retention are recurring problems.
