Minister rejects building Cork youth detention centre despite hardship plea

The Government says it has no plans to build a youth detention centre in Co Cork, despite pleas from public representatives who have highlighted the hardship being imposed on teenagers from the region who are being detained in Dublin.

Since the youth detention centre closed on Spike Island some years ago, successive governments have sought to centralise such facilities in the Dublin region.

Cork County Council recently wrote to Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Frances Fitzgerald pleading for her to open a new facility in Cork which would service needs in the Munster region.

However, their appeal fell on deaf ears after the minister wrote to council officials saying it was government policy to centralise youth detention at the Oberstown campus in Lusk, Co Dublin.

Minister Fitzgerald pointed out that as far back as 2007 an expert group had recommended creating a national detention centre at Oberstown as ‘being the most economic and efficient option for the care and education model required under the Children Act 2001’.

But the report did recommend ‘the possibility for the development of a regional facility be kept under review should there be a capacity demand for such a resource’.

The minister said she had recently announced a €50m upgrade for the Oberstown campus which would end the practice of using St Patrick’s Institute for the detention of under 18s.

She said there had been a decline in demand in recent years for detention places for those under 16 years old.

The minister said this had created some spare capacity in the system.

Cllr Noel Collins (Ind), a former social worker, had led the calls for a Cork facility. He said he was very disappointed at the comments, especially as he’d spoken to families who were having to make 320-mile round trips to Dublin.

He won support from fellow councillors who have decided to write to Minister Fitzgerald again urging her to change her mind.