Children in special care residential centre ‘living in a youth prison’

Children in one of the country’s four special care residential centres have told inspectors they felt like they were “living in a youth prison”.

The finding was one of a number of issues detected by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) in its inspections of the centres, which deal with some of the most vulnerable and troubled children in the state, and who are placed in special care by High Court order.