Oberstown publishes 2024 Annual Report
July 10, 2025
Oberstown highlights strong outcomes for young people and staff development in 2024 Annual Report
- Significant progress in education, training and professional standards detailed in latest report
10 July 2025: Oberstown Children Detention Campus has today published its 2024 Annual Report, capturing a year of strong progress in preparing young people for life beyond detention and deepening professional standards across the campus.
The report outlines a wide range of supports and interventions that enabled young people to gain valuable qualifications and vocational experience throughout 2024, while staff continued to develop their expertise in delivering safe, trauma-informed care.
It highlights how young people took part in a growing number of programmes to build their skills and wellbeing, while educational and vocational achievements point to Oberstown’s evolving role as a campus of care, learning and opportunity. At the same time, the professionalisation of the workforce and a strong focus on psychological safety have further strengthened campus culture.
Other key highlights include:
- Young people participated in 14 different programmes throughout 2024. These included Life Connections, Respect: Dating Detox, Crinan Drug Awareness, and Pro Social Driving.
- Continued progress in education with 6 young people sitting the Junior Certificate and 2 completing their Leaving Certificate, and 27 earning certificates across 27 modules at Level 3 General Learning QQI.
- Young people took part in the development and delivery of an internal Oberstown podcast series, aimed at teaching audio production skills, amplifying youth voices, promoting dialogue, and sharing personal experiences from campus life.
- Vocational achievements included: 16 SafePass certificates, 32 Manual Handling certificates, 1 forklift licence, 27 Fitness Instructor qualifications, 30 HACCP food safety certificates, and 12 young people completing barista training.
- Staff development progressed with over 100 staff registered with CORU, and Oberstown became one of the first organisations in Ireland to achieve ISO 45003 certification for psychological health and safety in the workplace.
- 2024 saw another year-on-year decrease in the number of Health and Safety Authority reportable incidents, with 11 during 2024 – down from 17 in 2023 and 24 in 2022.
- New horticultural training facility operating on campus with 15 young people completing a three-month vocational programme.
- Through the EU-funded ‘Walk in My Shoes’ project, young people worked with the Netherlands Helsinki Committee and Youth Perspectives (YOPE) to contribute to training, policy development and campus understanding of lived experience.
- Young people and An Garda Síochána collaborated on the ‘Breath of Fresh Éire’ art project in Balbriggan, creating murals that fostered community dialogue and strengthened local relationships. The project was run in collaboration with Gaisce – The President’s Award, a long-established focus for young people, with 20 awards achieved during the year (1 Gold, 6 Silver and 13 Bronze).
- The launch of the Baseline programme in February 2024 – a new intervention delivered in partnership with Tusla and the Probation Service to address harmful sexual behaviour.
- Oberstown was a key contributor to the European Data MOSAIC project, helping to improve data on violence against children in detention and influence policy nationally.
- CO2 emissions on campus were 39% below the 2016–2018 baseline and energy performance had improved by 45% since the 2009 baseline.
- New senior management roles focused on strengthening the integration of services and delivery of care on campus, while the Oberstown graduate recruitment programme progressed with expanded partnerships with MTU, SETU and others.
Minister for Children, Disability and Equality, Norma Foley TD, welcomed the publication:
“I welcome the publication of the Oberstown 2024 Annual Report, which reflects a positive, vibrant campus, focused on fostering an inclusive, rehabilitative and productive environment for the benefit of young people in its care. I wish to especially express my gratitude to the staff and management for their dedication, hard work and commitment. A particular thanks also to the young people who work collaboratively with the staff as they seek to reshape their lives and reach their fullest potential.”
Oberstown Director, Damien Hernon, said:
"In 2024, Oberstown continued to deliver high-quality, trauma-informed care that places young people at the centre of all we do. From successful transitions into education and employment, to the professionalism and dedication of our staff and positive engagements with our communities and neighbours, this report captures a year of real progress in creating opportunities for young people to move forward with their lives.”
Chairperson of the Board of Management, Koulla Yiasouma, added:
"Our 2024 Annual Report reflects the continued commitment of everyone at Oberstown to building a safe, caring and progressive environment for young people and staff. This is an ongoing endeavour and we are focused on delivering improvements in the service. We are proud to support a campus where every decision is rooted in the best interests of the young people in our care, and where the focus remains firmly on providing them with the skills and support to thrive beyond Oberstown.”
The report is available on the Oberstown website.
ENDS
For further information, please contact:
Cian Doherty / Aaron Reilly, Drury
Cian.Doherty@drury.ie / Aaron.reilly@drury.ie
087 772 6678 / 085 244 5630
Additional Information:
About Oberstown
Oberstown is Ireland’s national facility for the detention, care and education of young people under 18 years referred by the courts on detention or remand orders. Established under the Children Act 2001, the campus provides individualised care to young people through an integrated multi-professional approach that enables young people to address their offending behaviour, support their individual complex needs and return successfully to society.
CEHOP®
Oberstown meets the needs of young people in relation to their Care, Education, Health, Offending behaviour and Preparation for leaving – the five elements of CEHOP®, the Oberstown model of care. Applying a rights-based model, set out in our Children’s Rights Policy Framework, young people participate in decision making about their care, their lives and the campus as a whole.
Victim Liaison Service
Oberstown recognises the harm done to victims and is fully compliant with the EU victims’ directive of 2012 and The Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime Act) 2017, through our victim liaison service.
Board of Management
Oberstown has a Board of Management appointed by the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality (DCDE) under the Children Act 2001, which has responsibility for the overall management of the campus. Governance and performance arrangements are set out in an Oversight Agreement between DCDE and Oberstown, reviewed on an annual basis. Day-to-day responsibility for Oberstown rests with the Director, who under the Act has primary (in loco parentis) responsibility for the young people in Oberstown’s care.