Nine staff members at Oberstown injured in third 'very serious' incident in ten days
NINE STAFF MEMBERS at Oberstown Children's Detention Campus were injured on Wednesday in an incident involving one detainee.
Trade union Fórsa said four of the injured staff members required hospital treatment as a result of the incident.
It comes after two teenagers who were accused of 'savagely' beating a 60-year-old man during a burglary while armed with a machine gun
were released at the weekend due to lack of space
at the detention campus.
In February,
The Journal
reported
that judges were unable to send a number of alleged child offenders to Oberstown because it is at full capacity.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland this morning, Fórsa's media relations director Niall Shanahan said the latest incident is one of three 'very serious incidents' that have happened over a period of ten days.
He said a member of staff was assaulted on 8 June. This staff member was also one of the nine staff injured on Wednesday.
'On 11 June, we had one very serious incident where a staff member had their face slashed. It's what's been described to me as a life changing injury.'
According to Shanahan, staff at Oberstown have tried to raise 'mounting issues' in relation to staff assaults over the last number of years.
Advertisement
'What we have is a situation that's becoming more and more critical, partly due to staff shortages. Staff have told me that it's quite frequently they don't have enough staff to cover the shift, so they are operating below capacity.'
Staff retention is also an issue. Of the 10 new staff that Oberstown took in this year, only two of them are still working on the campus.
Shanahan said the management group appear 'unwilling to engage with the reality as staff are experiencing it when when they're working their shifts'.
'Given the number of serious injuries that we've had over those three incidents over the last ten days, the staff members are themselves required to report these incidents to the Gardaí. Management don't report to the Gardaí that anything like this has taken place in the campus,' he continued.
'So it suggests an unwillingness, I think, to take responsibility to what's happening to the staff on the campus. But I think more crucially, what we have is an environment that's becoming more and more unsafe, both for residents and for staff.'
Shanahan said he has been engaging with staff at Oberstown for the last 15 years, and this has become 'a feature of their working life'.
Fórsa contacted the Oberstown management group 'as a matter or urgency', with a meeting expected to take place in the coming days.
'But at this particular point in time, I'm very mindful of the fact that we have, I think, four or five staff from Oberstown who are not going to be able to attend work for at least a month because of their injuries,' Shanahan said, adding that this 'further exacerbates' the staffing problem at the centre.
'The longer this goes on and it isn't addressed, the more unsafe everybody on the Oberstown campus is.'
Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article.
Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.
Learn More
Support The Journal
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Daily Mirror
5 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Driver doing doughnuts & 'fishtailing' before Gardaí at rally event avoids jail
A young driver caught doing doughnuts before 'fishtailing' in front of Gardaí and trying to outrun them by heading for the border to escape has been given a suspended jail sentence. Ben Murray appeared before Letterkenny District Court in Co Donegal charged with dangerous driving. The court heard that Murray, now 25, was attending his first Donegal International Rally in June, 2024. Gardaí had called to Drumbarnett, Manorcunningham after complaints from the public that the road had been blocked and a number of cars were doing doughnuts just before midnight. When Gardaí arrived, they observed a Lexus is200 performing doughnuts and activated their blue lights. The driver of the car then fishtailed (defined as a vehicle making an uncontrolled sideways movement) in front of the patrol car, forcing Gardaí to reverse their patrol vehicle to avoid being hit. The Lexus sped off but was apprehended in the early hours of the following morning heading for the border. The driver, Ben Murray, aged 25, was arrested and was apologetic to Gardaí. His solicitor, Mr Patsy Gallagher, said Murray was attending his first rally and was "showing off for friends". He had made admissions and the car was lifted and his father and uncle had to come and collect the student, added the solicitor. Judge Ciaran Liddy asked the court if Murray, of Carlton Drive, Strabane, Co Tyrone, had any previous convictions. Sergeant Jim Collins said he had one previous conviction for drug driving and had been disqualified for one year. Judge Liddy noted that Murray was only back on the road for five months when this incident occurred. "This man is looking at a jail sentence," said the Judge. The Irish Mirror's Crime Writers Michael O'Toole and Paul Healy are writing a new weekly newsletter called Crime Ireland. Click here to sign up and get it delivered to your inbox every week Mr Gallagher said he was asking the court to take a more diplomatic approach, adding that it was "one stupid mistake". His client has now adopted a serious attitude to the incident and 'he should have acted more appropriately', he added. Mr Gallagher said that there was an impression given that Murray was 'aiming for the border', but told the court that it was not an evasive situation. 'There was no chase or otherwise,' he said, adding that the is200 has been moved on. He said Murray is doing a traineeship for cranes and has his preliminary tests done and planned to go to Scandinavia to finish that process. Mr Gallagher asked the court to consider reducing the charge to one of careless driving and to consider Murray's early plea. 'The shock of being here has had a very awakening effect on him,' Mr Gallagher said. Judge Ciaran Liddy said that the road was blocked deliberately to 'facilitate boy racer activity involving this man performing a fishtail manoeuvre on the public highway'. Judge Liddy noted that a Garda patrol car had to take evasive action to avoid being struck and that Murray proceeded to drive towards Derry. He said Murray was only just back on the road having concluded a driving ban for drink-driving only six months previously. Judge Liddy said: 'It is clear that he learned very little from his experience in court on the previous occasion.' Judge Liddy said that only for Murray having been 'well advised' to plead guilty, he would be imposing an immediate custodial sentence. Murray was handed a six-month prison sentence that was suspended for two years. Murray was also disqualified from driving for two years and fined €300.
Sunday World
5 hours ago
- Sunday World
Teenager broke into schoolmate's house to rob ‘personal items'
A teenager accused of entering a schoolmate's house and stealing cash and a number of personal items had his case adjourned for a probation report. Aaron Palmer, 18, with an address in Dromagh, Mallow, pleaded guilty to one charge of burglary and one of theft after being arrested by Gardaí on New Year's Day of this year. The court was told that reports were made about a number of items that were missing from a family home in Dromtarriff between St Stephen's Day last year, and New Year's Day of this year. Mallow Courthouse, Great William O'Brien Street News in 90 Seconds - June 20th The court heard Louise O'Callaghan had noted money and personal items that had gone missing from her bedroom. She subsequently confronted her family about the missing items who said they weren't aware of the missing items, nor had they taken them. The owner of the property Mary O'Callaghan became concerned and installed CCTV outside and inside the house. Subsequently, Louise heard someone entering her bedroom while asleep, at approximately 4am. At first she believed it was her mother but she confirmed that she hadn't entered the room. Having reviewed the footage, the family saw a man identified as Aaron Palmer entering the house and going up to her room. After arrest, the court was told that Mr Palmer made admissions to Gardaí of stealing a set of keys from Louise O'Callaghan's coat in school and admitted entering the house without her permission and taking the property. Mr Palmer retrieved the items and returned them to their rightful owner and was arrested and conveyed to Mallow Garda Station. Judge Colm Roberts ordered a probation order 'given the circumstances of the case', where his defence solicitor told the court that 'he had a lot going on.' Judge Roberts told the court that Mr Palmer 'was possibly not reading the correct messages, and that's putting it delicately as possible.' An adjournment was agreed until October 14, while Mr Palmer was remanded on bail to that date for a penalty to be decided. 'It may be that the probation service may suggest other directions, he is a young man,' concluded Judge Colm Roberts.
RTÉ News
6 hours ago
- RTÉ News
'Life changing injuries' - Staff fears over safety after Oberstown incidents
A staff member has been left with "life changing injuries" following a number of violent attacks on workers at a children's detention centre in Dublin. A total of ten staff at Oberstown Children Detention Campus have sustained injuries across three violent incidents since 8 June. The most recent took place on Wednesday in which nine staff members were injured, four of whom required hospital treatment, and are now expected to be out of work for a month or more. There was also one "very serious incident" on 11 June where a staff member "had their face slashed", trade union Fórsa said. It said that during an attempt to move a young person, a residential social care worker sustained a deep facial injury. Fórsa said no additional protective measures or staffing supports had been put in place by Oberstown management, despite previous violent incidents. Fórsa Media Relations Director Niall Shanahan said the situation at Oberstown is becoming "more critical" due to staff shortages and staff retention issues. Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Mr Shanahan said staff have tried to raise the issue of assaults on workers over the last number of years. "Staff have told me that quite frequently they don't have enough staff to cover the shift so they're operating below capacity," he said. Mr Shanahan also pointed to the "difficulty" of staff retention, saying that of the ten new staff that began work at Oberstown in this year, only two of them are still working on the campus. "We have staff who are trying to raise these issues with management at the Oberstown campus and we have a management group who appear unwilling, I think, to engage with the reality as staff are experiencing it," he said. Mr Shanahan said staff members, rather than management, are required to report incidents to gardaí, which he said suggests an "unwillingness" to take responsibility for what is happening to staff. He said the environment on campus is "becoming more and more unsafe" for both residents and staff. He said that Fórsa has contacted Oberstown management for an engagement, which he expects to take place in the next few days. "The longer this goes on and isn't addressed, the more unsafe everybody on the Oberstown campus is," he added. In a statement, the Department of Education said it offers its full support to any member of staff who has been injured during the course of their work. "As with all circumstances of this nature, these matters will be the subject of internal review. The Department does not comment on operational matters relating to Oberstown Children Detention Campus."
