A “small number” of additional places are to be created at the Oberstown Child Detention Campus in Dublin, which has been operating “at or near capacity” for months, officials have said.
It emerged this week that a lack of space at the State’s main youth detention centre resulted in two Dublin teenagers, who are accused of being armed with a machine gun during a burglary, being freed at the weekend.
The maximum occupancy at Oberstown, set by the Minister for Children, is currently 46 – made up of 40 boys and six girls.
One of the boys who was released on Saturday night failed to attend his subsequent court hearing on Monday and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.
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The two 17-year-olds and two men had been refused bail on Saturday after a judge heard a 60-year-old man was allegedly “savagely” beaten in front of his terrified family when armed intruders forced entry into their home in Shankill, Co Dublin, on June 11th.
All four were charged with aggravated burglary and unlawful possession of a Skorpion machine pistol.
However, Oberstown had no room to take the two 17-year-olds, despite the judge’s decision.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Department of Children said it “monitors occupancy rates in Oberstown Children Detention Campus closely and is aware that the campus has been operating at or near capacity in recent months”.
“In light of this the department is working with Oberstown to put in place the necessary resources to enable a small number of additional places to be made available in the near future. The department is also carrying out a research assessment to determine future demand for Oberstown services over the longer term,” it said.
Minister for Children Norma Foley recently met Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan, it said, with both committed to “ensuring the underpinning of appropriate sentencing policy for children both in terms of detention and community sanctions”.
This includes children serving sentences of detention and children who have been remanded by the courts. The department pointed out that because the maximum occupancy is set by the Minister, “overcrowding does not occur at Oberstown”.
