CHILDREN’S MINISTER NORMA Foley has rejected claims that any staff at Oberstown Children’s Detention facility suffered ‘life-changing injuries’ in recent incidents there.

In wide-ranging written Dáil replies on the operation of Oberstown at Lusk in Co Dublin, the Minister also rejected claims that the centre is experiencing ‘dangerously low staffing levels’.

The facility currently has the capacity for 46 individuals – 40 boys and 6 girls – and Foley revealed that her officials have already asked the Oberstown Director to make preparations to provide for “a small increase in the near future in the maximum number of boys that may be detained at Oberstown”.

This follows Oberstown frequently having no space to cater for remand orders from the courts, including one incident last month where a lack of space at Oberstown resulted in two Dublin teenagers, who are accused of being armed with a machine gun during a burglary, being released from custody despite a judge seeking to remand them on detention to Oberstown.

The 2024 annual report for Oberstown shows that of the 120 teenagers subject to remand or detention orders last year, only two were female.

In his written Dáil question, TD Gary Gannon asked Foley the actions being taken in response to the serious incident at Oberstown in which nine staff were injured – four requiring hospital treatment, including one with life-changing injuries – and how she justifies operating the facility with dangerously low staffing levels.

In her response, Foley stated that “I am concerned that the question asked repeats assertions made about recent incidents at Oberstown which were put into the public domain without consultation or verification and which contain significant factual inaccuracies”.

She said: “I would like to correct these inaccuracies and provide important context while being mindful of the sensitivities of the individuals involved.

Foley stated: “All individuals involved in the incidents referred to continue to be fully supported by Oberstown. Where injuries were sustained, following triage by the campus onsite medical team, four individuals were referred to hospital for further checks, none of which resulted in hospitalisation (stays in hospital).

She said: “While it would not be appropriate for Oberstown to discuss details of any personal injuries outside the internal review process, I have been assured by the Director that to date the campus has not received any medical information to support the assertion that any staff member involved in the incidents received ‘life-changing injuries’.

She said that it is “unhelpful” to make “unsupported assertions” on any injury sustained in an incident currently under review.

“Oberstown is not experiencing ‘dangerously low staffing levels’,” she said. In 2025, Oberstown recruited 18 staff, 16 of which are in the roles of Residential Social Care Worker and Night Supervising Officer.

Minister Foley stated that “of this intake, 17 remain (94.4%) – only one staff member left within six months of joining”.

The 2024 annual report for Oberstown shows that its allocation for pay last year totalled €17.18m. The centre employed 250 including 165 directly involved in the direct front line care of young people.

In her foreword to the 2024 report, chair Koulla Yiasouma stated that “the year has been particularly challenging as our occupancy levels have remained high and staffing levels are still a challenge”.

She stated: “The needs of some of the young people are increasingly complex and the willingness of the whole staff team to adapt to those needs is remarkable.”