Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 25 Mar 2003

Vol. 563 No. 4

Youth Services.

Ms Shortall

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy de Valera, for coming into the House for this matter. However, I must express regret that neither of the Ministers directly responsible have bothered to turn up, namely the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Noel Dempsey, or the Minister of State with responsibility for children, Deputy Brian Lenihan. What is happening in the Finglas children's centre is a scandal. The two Ministers directly responsible stand indicted for their failure to take action on what has been going on there. In spite of the fact that they have been well aware of the situation in Finglas and the ongoing serious difficulties which exist, they have failed to take obvious action.

Up to four years ago Finglas children's centre was regarded as a centre of excellence which was well managed with progressive policies, low staff turnover, high bed occupancy and an optimistic future. In the past four years it has deteriorated into ongoing crisis, with constant reports of riots, assaults, absconders, ad hoc planning, high staff turnover, low bed occupancy, threatened industrial action and escalating annual budgets. The staff, both individually and through their unions, have made numerous approaches to local management, the board of management, the Department of Education and Science's child care adviser and the many officials in the Department. They also made repeated representations to the then Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Woods, the then Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Hanafin, the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Dempsey, and the Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science, Deputy Brian Lenihan, in an attempt to highlight the ongoing crisis and chaos in Finglas.

The then Minister, Deputy Woods, ordered an inspection to take place in March 2002. The results of this inspection are detailed in Mr. Mike Laxton's report, which was published in July 2002. That report confirmed the following:

It is evident and undeniable that the organisation is in acute crisis. It lacks clear direction, it is not meeting a number of basic requirements . . . All of these factors mean that the young people are not receiving the level of care, control and education that they require and on occasions, it is not safe for young people and staff.

It stated that "Huge numbers of staff have left and significant numbers are sick" on a regular basis and that high absconding rates are another indicator of a unit not coping. It stated in the case of the robust unit that "this development gives the impression of evolving rather than being carefully planned" and "the opening of the robust unit was itself born out of crisis for which everyone involved has paid a price, including the young people."

This is a fairly damning report on a centre that has been operated under the responsibility of the Department of Education and Science. It is also damning in view of the rising problem of juvenile crime. On a regular basis we are seeing young offenders coming before the courts with 40 or 50 charges against them. If such young offenders are given a custodial sentence in one of the detention centres, too often when the Garda take them out to the centres there are no beds available.

In that context, it is inexcusable that the State should preside over the chaotic situation in Finglas, where at present only about one third of the beds are occupied and the place is in complete disarray. The centre, intended to provide care for young people who are dysfunctional, is truly dysfunctional itself.

Is the Minister aware that the Finglas children's centre was regarded as a centre of excellence up to four years ago? What has he done to ascertain why this acute crisis has arisen? There is no evidence that the Minister has taken action since July 2002, when Mr. Laxton's report was published. What action, if any, has the Minister taken to ensure that children and staff are now safe? It was found last year in Mr. Laxton's report that the Finglas centre is not a safe place for either young offenders or staff. What has the Minister done about it? There is no evidence that he has taken any action whatsoever in that regard. Has the Minister confidence in the management of the centre? If not, why is he not taking action on that front? Will the Minister clarify the status of Mr. Laxton in relation to the centre and whether he has an ongoing role in the centre?

Will the Minister clarify the confusion around this inspection? The then Minister, Deputy Woods, first stated in January 2002 that he was ordering an investigation. When he was queried on that further, he stated it was an inspection. Then he stated it was a run-of-the-mill inspection, but the investigation that was carried out showed a centre in crisis. There is no denying that fact. It is there in black and white in Mr. Laxton's report.

Eight months later, there is no evidence of the Minister responsible having taken action on it. Will the Minister clarify what exactly is the future of the Finglas centre? There is a huge demand for additional places. The places, because of the bed occupancy rate, cost about €250,000 per year. This is a scandal which the Committee of Public Accounts should examine. Most importantly, it is a scandal that the Minister is allowing the most vulnerable and most harmed children to be left in danger. It is reprehensible that the Minister treats staff like that also. Will the Minister take action?

Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science (Miss de Valera)

On behalf of my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Lenihan, I welcome the opportunity to address the issue of the Finglas Child and Adolescent Centre as raised by Deputy Shortall. As the Deputy will be aware, the Department of Education and Science commissioned an independent inspector, Mr. Mike Laxton, an internationally recognised expert in the field of residential child care, to carry out an inspection of the Finglas centre. The focus of this inspection was an examination of the centre's systems and procedures and standards of care.

Mr. Laxton examined and inspected the operations of the centre by reference to draft standards that were drawn up by my Department in consultation with the centres themselves and the social services inspectorate. These standards cover all aspects of residential child care and reflect best practice both in Ireland and internationally. These standards have been reviewed and were finalised late last year. The standards issued to all young offender centres earlier this year and are available on the Department's website.

The inspector completed his work in July 2002. He submitted the report to my Department and referred it to the chairperson of the board of management and to the director of the centre. The report of the inspection is available on my Department's website.

The overall conclusion of the inspector is that on balance and subject to a number of conditions, the centre should remain open and be given an opportunity to improve its overall performance. The report found that:

The organisation is in acute crisis. It lacks clear direction, it is not meeting a number of basic requirements and there are internal undermining conflicts in the organisation.

The inspector found lack of a strategic plan and a clear sense of how it was to be implemented and managed. In terms of management of the centre, the inspector found that "The management issues are manifold and stem primarily from the need to change the centre's practices, policies and procedures to meet the requirements demanded of best practice." The inspector found a lack of consensus about key aspects of care or "a common care culture" and concluded that the task of management is to establish such a culture.

The report identified an urgent need for the external management arrangement for the centre and all the young offender centres to be reviewed by the Department of Education and Science. In this regard, the inspector recognises that the manner in which all the residential centres under the aegis of the Department are externally managed is a major policy issue. The inspector refers to a separate review on the future role of the residential centres which will have an impact in this regard.

The review referred to is one which my Department has commissioned Mr. Laxton to undertake of the residential requirements for young offenders. The purpose of this review is to ensure that there are sufficient and appropriate residential places available to meet the needs of the target group into the future. The review will also indicate if existing places are being used to best effect. As Deputy Shortall will be aware, the centres are currently governed by the terms of the Children Act 1908 which will be replaced by the Children Act 2001 when the provisions of the latter Act are commenced.

In September 2002 my Department received the views of the board of management. The appropriate staff unions were then consulted about the future of the centre. My Department has retained Mr. Laxton to monitor progress at the Finglas centre.

As was acknowledged in the inspection report, a major programme of capital redevelopment works has been undertaken in the centre over the past three years. These works have reduced the capacity of the centre and caused considerable disruption for both the young persons in care and the staff. Since 1999, some €2.7 million has been spent on capital redevelopment at Finglas. These works involved the conversion of the old dormitory-style accommodation to meet with modern standards. They also included the provision of a pre-release and step-down facility called the Grove at Finglas. The current phase of refurbishment works involving the upgrading of the education and administration areas and some of the living areas, at a cost of €12.2 million, is due to be completed by June 2003. The Minister would like to record his gratitude to all at the centre for their continued co-operation in this regard. He is aware of the ongoing difficulties and his Department is committed to addressing all the issues facing the centre.