Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 May 2013
596. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs when she expects the new eight bed unit in Oberstown, County Dublin, to be completed and when the places will begin to be used. [23868/13]
View answerI refer the Deputy to my reply to PQ No. 246 of 16 May 2013.
By way of further information on this matter, the physical layout at present of the Oberstown campus comprises three detention units in Oberstown Boys School, one detention unit in Oberstown Girls School and three detention units in Trinity House School. One of the three detention units in Trinity House School is currently not in use due to staffing issues. As outlined in my reply to PQ No. 246, my Department is working closely with the Oberstown Board of Management to resolve this issue and bring this detention unit back into operation at the earliest possible date.
The Deputy may also be aware that a capital project is currently underway to increase the capacity of the Oberstown campus. The main objective of this project is to meet the Programme for Government commitment to end the practice of detaining children in St Patrick's Institution. The tender process for the award of a contract for the project is currently ongoing. The current projected timeline estimate from the OPW indicates that the first new residential units, to provide sufficient capacity to end the practice of sending 17 year old boys to St. Patrick's Institution, will be available for use by mid 2014.
