Children up in court 'are asking to be sent to Oberstown rather than into special care'

Oberstown Detention Centre. The Ombudsman's director of investigations Nuala Ward told the Oireachtas committee that children say: 'At least at Oberstown I have a release date'. File picture

Children appearing before the courts are asking to be sent to Oberstown detention campus rather than going into the special care system, an Oireachtas committee has heard.

The Children's Ombudsman has said the special care system is crying out for help and the children in it are not being appropriately provided for.

Niall Muldoon said there are "a lot of flaws within the way that Tusla is doing work, the way that we are providing for the more difficult children that we have".

The concept of special care is wonderful, Mr Muldoon said, but the reality is not in line with this.

Special care is meant to be short-term 

Special care is intended to be an intensive, three-month, therapeutic environment to help children to reset, get things turned around, and then leave and there is supposed to be a maximum of three stays.

Mr Muldoon said that in reality the temporary care has moved to institutionalisation, with known instances of children spending up to two years in special care.

These children lose any motivation to try and progress because they do not feel that they will be moved on.

Nuala Ward, the Ombudsman's director of investigations, told the Oireachtas children's committee: 

There are children with serious matters coming up in front of the courts and asking the judge to 'please send me to Oberstown, not special care because at least at Oberstown, I have a release date'. 

Sinn Féin TD Claire Kerrane said that the preference to be placed in the detention centre over special care indicates that there are young people who feel they would get more out of time in Oberstown, citing the lack of mental health supports available to children in special care.

Ms Kerrane expressed concern that children are being placed in special care despite not requiring that particular care because there is no other suitable option available.

Children's Ombudsman Niall Muldoon leaving Leinster House on Thursday afternoon after appearing before the Oireachtas children's and equality committee. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA 

"It does not have the support for addiction and mental health and they are two of the top issues that children are facing," she said, noting that Mr Muldoon agreed that this is an issue.

If they are not getting the supports they require then why are we putting them in there? Ms Kerrane asked.

Addressing the lack of supports, Ms Ward said that depriving a child of their liberty for welfare reasons is the highest level of rights that is being discussed at the committee "and for us to fail to give them the adequate therapeutic supports that they need is shocking. It is absolutely unacceptable."

The ombudsman also addressed reports that Tusla is set to hire security guards to work with care staff to respond to violent episodes when they occur stating: "If you are talking about security then you are missing the whole point of what Tusla is supposed to provide."