Statement from Oberstown director Pat Bergin:

“On May 30 an incident occurred at Oberstown Campus involving three young people. Two of those involved in the incident left the Campus. They have now been returned to the Campus. We will not be issuing further detail on the particulars of the incident, as it is the subject of a live Garda investigation.

“At this stage, we want to extend our thanks to the Gardaí for all of their work in the safe return of both young people and to all of our staff team at Oberstown in dealing with this.

“The incident followed an event on May 29 – Oberstown: Building the Future – held to mark the first anniversary since the Oberstown campus was established, bringing together three children’s detention schools – Trinity House, Oberstown Boys’ School and Oberstown Girls’ School. It provided a stark reminder of the constant challenges an environment like Oberstown presents us with.

“While taking time to acknowledge progress we were immediately confronted with the unpredictable nature of work at the Campus. We will always face challenges and we are committed to our efforts to improve.

“This is reflected in an Implementation Plan collating recommendations from external reviews, which is supporting positive change on a number of fronts, under the direction of an Implementation Group, comprising representatives of: Board and Management of Oberstown; Department of Children; Director; staff. This positive change is reflected in the fact that until May 30 we were seven months without any major incident at the campus. This is progress. It will continue.

“Our ambition is to ensure that Oberstown achieves the highest level of safe and appropriate care and adheres to international standards and best practice. This is an ongoing process.”

ENDS