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6th June 2017 • Volume 24, Issue 20 • Leader House, North Street, Swords, Co. Dublin. K67 P5W4. • Tel: 01 8•400•200 • info@northcountyleader.ie • www.northcountyleader.ie
Mixed News For Oberstown
Last week, Oberstown Detention facility for Young Offenders, outside Lusk was in the news for both positive and negative reasons. Three teens escaped the Oberstown Detention facility, just hours after the Oberstown Chair, Professor Ursula Kilkelly launched a new pathway for youth detention in Ireland Oberstown: Building the Future. This event was attended by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Katherine Zappone, and experts from across the youth detention and justice sector. It was held to mark the first anniversary in June of the Children’s Detention Campus as a single facility providing a unique
By Rachel Wallace system of care, health and education in Ireland. This progressive talk was aimed at discussing reform at the centre and strategic goals for the future of the facility, its staff and the detainees.
Minister Zappone spoke at the event and said, ”Oberstown is a most important part of our youth justice system and its successful operation is critical to ensuring that children are supported in their learning and development.” She was presented with a beautiful portrait of herself, which had been painted by one of the young detainees at Oberstown. Procedures were being discussed on providing the best possible care for young people and developing a motivated cohesive workforce. Amongst these procedures being assessed were issues deemed as high priority, such as reviews of the admissions process, individual care planning for young people and ensuring a safe system of work for all staff. Reviews were also made into the current emer-
Fingal’s First Taoiseach Last Friday was a historical day for Fingal, when Leo Varadkar, who is a TD for Dublin West, which is part of the Fingal region, became the new leader of Fine Gael and will be elected Taoiseach on 17th June. This will make him the first Taoiseach to represent a constituency in Fingal. Varadkar was elected by his party after defeating his rival, Simon Coveney in a contest to succeed former Taoiseach Enda Kenny, who announced the date when he would step down. He is expected to take his new post today, Tuesday as the new leader of Fine Gael and probable Taoiseach.
By Leslie Murphy Varadkar had been elected TD by locals from this area of Fingal in 2011, when the western part of Swords was included in his constituency of Dublin West. Previous Taoiseach, Charles Haughey, while he lived in Fingal, did not represents a constituency in the Fingal region. Varadkar a former Fingal County councillor, was just 23 years old when he contested the 1999 election in Mulhuddart but failed to be elected. He succeeded in 2007 and was elected to Dáil Éireann and became party spokesperson for, Enterprise, Trade and Employment until 2010. After the General Election of 2011, he was appointed Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport. In 2014, he replace fellow fingallian, Dr James Reilly as Minister for Health and in 2016 he was he appointed Minister for Social Protection. Varadkar was born in Dublin in 1979, his mother Miriam is from Dungarvan and his father Ashok is from India, and they met in London while they where both working in the medical profession. Varadkar attended St Francis Xavier National School, Blanchardstown, then he studied at
Pictured at the new pathway for youth detention in Ireland - ‘Oberstown: Building the Future’event to mark its first anniversary in June as a single facility are Professor Ursula Kilkelly, Oberstown Chair and Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Katherine Zappone, with a portrait of the Minister, created by a young person in detention in Oberstown
gency response plans, which (according to staff) should incorporate the use of specialist PPE (personal protective equipment) in emergency situations. A spokesperson for the centre said that, “Ensuring that the lessons learned from incident investigation are implemented across the Campus should be a priority for 2017.” Unfortunately the positive mood for the centre was short lived, as less than 24 hours later, three young offenders managed to escape, injuring staff in the process. They got access to the tool shed and managed to cut the steel railing, making their escape along the network of rural roads in the vicinity. Two of these individuals were later
picked up and returned to the centre by Gardaí. At the time of going to press one of the offenders was still at large. Director of Oberstown, Pat Bergin, who was injured in the escape of the detainees, said at the ‘Building The Future Talk’ earlier, “In the past year, significant improvements had been made on buildings and facilities on the campus but that challenges will always remain - with change, with young people - but we are confident we can now respond better and we are now focused on moving forward. Our ambition is to ensure that Oberstown achieves the highest level of safe and appropriate care and adheres to international standards and best practice.”
Leo Varadkar is pictured on the campaign trail with his supporters
Palmerstown in The King’s Hospital and that was when he joined Fine Gael. He then went on to study at Trinity College where he briefly studied law and later switched to medicine. He graduated from the School of Medicine in 2003 and spent several years working as a junior doctor in St James’s Hospital and Connolly Hospital, before qualifying as a general practitioner in 2010.
Jason Lawlor (centre), proprietor of The Old School House Bar & Restaurant in Swords is pictured with Business Consultant, Paddy Duffy (left) and Conor Martin of Marcon Capital (right) outside the premises where a major new development is underway. See full story on page 9