Gardaí search for teens who escaped from detention centre

Gardaí are continuing to search for three teenagers who absconded from a child detention centre in north Dublin.

Four youths, aged 15 and 16, broke out of the Oberstown facility, near Lusk, at around 9.30pm on Saturday. It is understood they managed to get out of the exercise yard and made their way to an adjacent building site where they used ladders to scale the centre's perimeter wall.

Oberstown staff became aware of the escape as it was in progress. It is understood no staff were harmed during the incident.

One of the boys, who suffered an injury to his ankle, later handed himself in to Swords Garda station.

A garda spokesman said the air support unit had taken part in the search but that three youths remained at large.

Minister for Children James Reilly, whose department is responsible for Oberstown, was informed of the escape on Saturday night. His spokesman said Mr Reilly had sought a report into the incident.

Under a long-standing protocol, an alert was also issued to various members of the local community in north Dublin after the incident.

The Government allocated €50 million three years ago for the redevelopment of the Oberstown campus, which contains separate boys’ and girls’ schools and now takes all young men under the age of 18 who are newly remanded in custody by the courts.

The expansion was designed to bring to an end the practice of admitting children to adult prisons. It coincided with the closure of the St Patrick’s juvenile wing of Mountjoy Prison, an overcrowded facility where the detention of children has been phased out.

Oberstown, where children on remand or serving a sentence are provided with education and training programmes, has been under pressure in recent years, however.

In May, a report from the committee that monitors the State’s prison and detention facilities said it was concerned that Oberstown may not have the resources to house the youths being sent there from St Pat’s.

In the same month, four boys were reported to have absconded from the centre.

In June 2013, three youths escaped.

Trade unions representing staff at Oberstown have reported a number of assaults against their members in recent months.