Oberstown youths kept in ‘de facto solitary confinement’, court told

Four young males are suing the State claiming their human rights were breached while detained in Oberstown detention centre in north Dublin.

Patrick Gageby SC, for two of the four, said they were unlawfully kept in "de facto solitary confinement" for "unjustifiable" periods of about three weeks from late August 2016 in breach of their rights, human dignity and Oberstown's "admirable" policy on separation.

There was “no apparent legal reason” for what was done and there was “cavalier, substantial, unjustified and disproportionate” breaches of the separation policy, formulated just seven months earlier but “sedulously ignored”.

His clients, both aged 16, were held in locked rooms for about three weeks and got no stimulation over a number of days during that time via either computer games, tv or newspapers, he said.

They ate in the locked rooms and got no exercise for periods of up to 7/8 days, despite Oberstown’s policy advocating the right to exercise and fresh air. The policy provided for no separation beyond three days, he said.

It was also hard to see how denial of family visits and phone calls over periods of days during this time could be part of a “behaviour modification” programme, he said.

The Oberstown authorities argued that highly trained staff remained in contact with the detainees but that appeared to involve passing in meals and taking out laundry and dishes through a door hatch, he said.

Oberstown maintained its actions were aimed at “behaviour modification”, were not a disciplinary response and were justified by an “emergency” at the centre on the night of August 29th/30th 2016, he said. Whatever the reason for the treatment, it did not justify what happened here, he said.

His side also disputed each of the four were given individualised behaviour modification programmes. Other complaints include the applicants were strip-searched in front of a number of staff.

The proceedings follow disturbances and fire damage to the centre near Lusk, Co Dublin on the night of August 29th/30th 2016. A number of boys got onto the roof of the centre and a fire broke out rendering one unit useless and two others out of action while repairs were carried out. A Garda investigation into the incidents is continuing.

In their actions, the four want orders prohibiting operation of a regime of solitary confinement and declarations their rights under the Constitution and European Convention on Human Rights, including to private and family life, were breached. They also want damages.

Their applications are opposed by the director of Oberstown and the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission is involved as an amicus curiae – assistant to the court on legal issues.

The respondents deny operating a solitary confinement policy and maintain it is a separation policy. It is also pleaded one of the four cases is pointless because the applicant is now 18 and is serving a term at Wheatfield adult prison in Dublin.

During his opening, Mr Gageby said one of his clients was on remand to Oberstown while the other is a convicted detainee.

Oberstown is a specialised large campus of reception of about 40-50 young persons with a 5/1 ratio of staff, the court heard.

What happened to his clients was “utterly redolent of solitary confinement”, an issue that, particularly in relation to children, has received very substantial attention from the courts and various international committees, Mr Gageby said. The literature showed solitary confinement is damaging to the human psyche and human dignity.

The case continues on Thursday before Ms Justice Úna Ní Raifeartaigh who has ordered no identification of the four applicants.