Minister turns sod on €56m youth detention facility

Children’s Minister Frances Fitzgerald has hailed the start of work on the new national children’s detention facility on the Oberstown campus as a major step on the road to overhauling children’s services.

Ms Fitzgerald yesterday launched the construction phase of the child detention facilities in Lusk in north Co Dublin, which will increase capacity and improve services for children in care.

It will mean the end the detention of children in adult prison facilities. Work is expected to be completed on the €56.4m project in 2015, while the minister said additional care staff would also be employed.