The whereabouts of four asylum-seeking children was unknown for more than a fortnight by management at their accommodation centre, an inspection report has found.
In another centre there was evidence of “a large number of insects” in the kitchen, while in another where almost half the residents were children, one staff member was working without Garda vetting.
When senior management at the Clondalkin Towers centre in west Dublin was eventually told four children were missing, “no actions were taken”, the report by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) says. The incident occurred when the children’s parent was hospitalised.
“Despite making required reports to the Child and Family Agency (Tusla) and An Garda Síochána, the provider failed to take reasonable and proportionate interim measures to protect the children while in the centre, leading to the staff team being unaware of the children’s whereabouts for 15 days,” says the inspection report. “The issue was also not promptly escalated internally, and when it was, no actions were taken by senior management.”
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The inspection report on the Towers was one of nine on International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS) centres in counties Limerick, Cork, Laois, Offaly, Kerry, Galway, Donegal and Dublin, published together on Wednesday.
Hiqa has since January been tasked with inspecting IPAS centres against national standards.
The Clondalkin Towers is one of the largest IPAS centres. This unannounced inspection was held on July 17th and 18th. With capacity for 250 people, it was found to be home to 180 residents from 24 countries.
“The inspectors observed that while this was a busy centre, it was a welcoming place to both residents and visitors,” says the report. “[Residents] reported feeling safe and satisfied with the facilities at the centre. They were familiar with and described the management and staff as approachable and helpful, feeling comfortable raising any concerns.”
However: “The inspection identified non-compliance with several national standards, highlighting the need for improvements in key areas to ensure safe and high-quality services. Issues identified included inadequate management of safeguarding, unsafe staff recruitment practices and the need for enhanced governance and management oversight.”
In particular, child safeguarding practices needed “significant improvement”. Although procedures existed for reporting child protection and welfare concerns, there was “ineffective monitoring and oversight”.
“The service was inadequately resourced to meet the needs of its current resident population, with several staff vacancies needing to be filled,” says the report.
In the Marian Hostel, Tullamore, Co Offaly, home to 162 residents including 15 children, inspected on July 30th and 31st, there was “mould and algae in some bathrooms, and mould in bedrooms and communal hallway”. There was evidence of “a large quantity of insects … in one of the communal kitchens in the family building”.
Inspectors noted: “There had been an outbreak of pests within the centre in the months prior to the inspection, and the service provider had taken all necessary measures to address and eradicate the pests to ensure the safety and welfare of the residents.”
At the Hibernian hotel in Co Laois, home to 44 people, of whom 20 were children, “staff members recently employed did not have a written reference which was required by the centre’s recruitment policy. There was one staff member who did not have a Garda vetting declaration on file, but the application had been submitted.”
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