Absenteeism crisis

It is not surprising that beleaguered workers at the coal-face of care for troubled teenagers are constantly on sick leave.

Because of stress, assaults and a series of other incidents, staff involved in running the country’s special care units in Dublin, Cork and Limerick are literally racking up thousands of sick leave days each year.

This mounting crisis of absenteeism is costing taxpayers money they can ill afford. Incredibly, figures secured by the Irish Examiner show that in the past three years, 20 workers at the units, which provide places for 17 teenagers, amassed an astonishing 14,000 days in sick leave. Clearly, this is unsustainable as the bill for agency staff last year was €3m.