Ten youth detention staff sick for a yea

Ten staff members at a children’s detention centre have been on sick leave for more than a year, it has emerged.

Children’s Minister Frances Fitzgerald said beds at the Oberstown Centre in Lusk, Co Dublin, were lying empty because of staffing issues.

“We are now pursuing a twin-track approach of recruiting staff on an interim basis and seeing if we can use some agency staff to increase the bed space,” she said.