3024. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the steps her Department has taken to resolve the industrial dispute at Oberstown Children Detention Campus and ensure the safety of both the staff and the young people in their care. [62687/26]

As the employer, Oberstown management engages directly with staff representatives through established industrial relations processes, including the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC).

The Department works in close collaboration with Oberstown management to ensure staffing levels meet operational needs, to strengthen workforce planning, and to provide appropriate support to staff in what is a particularly demanding environment.

In addition, the Department is constantly working with Oberstown management to address staffing needs, including ongoing recruitment initiatives, ensuring that services are better equipped to meet the complex needs of the young people in their care and to support staff in their roles.

The Department of Children, Disability and Equality has provided €2.176 million in additional funding in Budget 2026 for Oberstown to increase staffing levels.

This brings their total funding for 2026 to €31.607 million in current funding, in addition to €7 million capital funding.

Since the end of 2025, Oberstown Children Detention Campus has recruited 21 new staff members and had 7 staff departures. This brings the total number of staff working at Oberstown to 259 whole-time equivalents (WTE). Oberstown is also continuing to recruit up to seven further posts before the year is out.

In March of this year, capacity arrangements in Oberstown were altered from 40 boys and 6 girls (46 spaces) to 42 boys and 4 girls (46 spaces) given the higher demand for spaces for boys in Oberstown.

Through the industrial relations mechanisms, all parties consisting of Oberstown management, Fórsa representatives and DCDE officials met at the Workplace Relations Commission on 27/08/2026 to resolve the dispute at Oberstown. There was significant and positive engagement advancing issues raised by union representatives with a view to a resolution.

Following this engagement, proposals by Oberstown management to address issues raised were then put to a ballot of Fórsa members at Oberstown. This proposal was accepted by Fórsa members and the industrial action has ceased.