Oberstown Children Detention Campus refused to accept 12 boys sent by the courts in the past year, including 10 in October, because it was full, documents show.
Despite warnings from management that increasing numbers at the north Co Dublin campus would “adversely impact outcomes for young people,” Minister for Children Norma Foley has pushed through an instruction to the centre to take more boys.
In response to protests by staff and management the increase is being staggered – from 40 to 42 boys already implemented, with another increase to 44 boys in September.
Oberstown, located near Lusk, has capacity for 46 children sentenced or on remand for serious criminal offences.
Up to March 31st these have comprised up to 40 boys and six girls, in six residential units – five accommodating eight boys each, and one for girls.
While there are rarely more than two girls detained, the boys’ units are full most of the time. An increase in boys without an increase in accommodation units means higher numbers in some units. Mixed gender units are not considered safe.
Within days of the increase to 42 on March 31st last “highly problematic” restrictions had to be put on the young people leading to “an increase in anxiety” and “in bad/disruptive behaviour”, meetings minutes show.
One unit “was on restricted movement following the increase in capacity. Boys could not leave residential unit but could leave their bedrooms,” notes minutes of the April 2nd meeting between Oberstown and the Department.
April 9th minutes record: “The majority of staff don’t want this situation. Oberstown suggested that this situation could get worse.”
Documents released under Freedom of Information legislation show the significant resistance by Oberstown to Foley’s instruction.
“I respectfully request that you and your colleagues reconsider this decision,” said Damien Hernon, director of Oberstown in email to David Byrne, principal officer at the Department’s child detention schools unit on February 11th.
Hernon included links to news reports concerning injuries to workers at the Ashley child detention centre in Tasmania, Australia, a week previously as “examples of what can go wrong ... when seclusion, staffing challenges and poor morale are present”.
His mail followed letters from Koulia Yiasouma Chair of Oberstown to Foley in May 2025, warning of a “a significant risk to a deterioration of service to young people” if numbers increased, and to assistant secretary Lara Hynes in October last saying: “We cannot accommodate more young people on site or off without additional resources.”
Senior Department officials pushed back, saying the “increased frequency of unmet requests for places from the courts” was creating an “emergency situation” which had “implications for the effective operation of the youth justice system as a whole”.
Byrne responded to Hernon on February 13th, copying Yiasouma, saying: “The Minister is intending to increase the certified capacity for boys by four during 2026 ... The Department and Oberstown will monitor the experience of the higher certified capacity.”
Records show department officials considering such steps as no longer detaining girls in Oberstown and commandeering space in Crannog Nua, a Tusla-run special care unit, in an effort to increase space for boys.
Minutes of Oberstown/department meetings though April record increased restrictions on boys due to staffing issues and increased complaints by young people to advocacy officers.
April 28th minutes recorded: “Some staff have said they may go so far as to ‘walk off shift’ if not enough staff [are] around”.
Issues related to staff safety at Oberstown raised by the Fórsa trade union since the increases are before the Workplace Relations Commission.
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