Staff at Obertstown Children Detention Campus will protest outside the Department of Children on Tuesday as they engage in a third work stoppage related to a dispute over staffing levels and safety.
Members of the Fórsa trade union have for some time argued there are insufficient numbers employed at the centre to ensure their safety or that of some of the teenagers detained there.
Residential social care workers and other frontline staff say they are at risk due to staff shortages and work practices.
[ Industrial action at Oberstown campus to proceed after talks collapseOpens in new window ]
The issue attracted national attention last summer when there were assaults on staff which were attributed to ongoing recruitment issues and consistently high occupancy levels. The union says that despite additional funding and engagement between the two sides at the Workplace Relations Commission, serious problems persist.
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Staff members who spoke to The Irish Times last summer said they often felt unsafe and unsupported by management, particularly when dealing with the minority of more violent teenagers in the units.
A staff survey had suggested they felt the situation at the facility, which caters for up to about 50 young people and generally operates close to or at full capacity, was becoming worse.
Fórsa assistant general secretary Deirdre O’Connell said the failure to agree new measures “prolongs a situation where staff and residents face increased risks to personal safety”.
Management at the facility has, however, disagreed with the union’s portrayal of working conditions and staffing levels.
In a Monday statement, it said it regretted the decision to mount another stoppage “while engagement through the established industrial relations process remains ongoing”.
It also described some of the union’s characterisations of staff turnover as “inaccurate and misleading”.
[ Oberstown campus refused further admissions due to being at capacityOpens in new window ]
On recruitment, it said there has been a net increase of nine frontline staff over the past 12 months but acknowledged a further six positions remain vacant.
On retention, it said almost all staff at the facility have more than five years’ service, with almost a third of about 250 employees having more than 20 years.
On safety, it said the number of incidents was down 136 in 2026 from 191 during the same period in 2025, with the number of “low-level physical interventions” required down by 40 per cent year on year.
Management at the facility also says an independent review of staffing levels, established in collaboration with Fórsa, is due to get under way this month.
“The safety and wellbeing of staff and young people remains Oberstown’s highest priority. Contingency planning is in place for the scheduled work stoppages and management is focused on ensuring the campus continues to operate as safely and effectively as possible during this period.”
