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RTÉ News
35 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
'Life changing injuries' - Staff fears over safety after Oberstown incidents
A staff member has been left with "life changing injuries" following a number of violent attacks on workers at a children's detention centre in Dublin. A total of ten staff at Oberstown Children Detention Campus have sustained injuries across three violent incidents since 8 June. The most recent took place on Wednesday in which nine staff members were injured, four of whom required hospital treatment, and are now expected to be out of work for a month or more. There was also one "very serious incident" on 11 June where a staff member "had their face slashed", trade union Fórsa said. It said that during an attempt to move a young person, a residential social care worker sustained a deep facial injury. Fórsa said no additional protective measures or staffing supports had been put in place by Oberstown management, despite previous violent incidents. Fórsa Media Relations Director Niall Shanahan said the situation at Oberstown is becoming "more critical" due to staff shortages and staff retention issues. Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Mr Shanahan said staff have tried to raise the issue of assaults on workers over the last number of years. "Staff have told me that quite frequently they don't have enough staff to cover the shift so they're operating below capacity," he said. Mr Shanahan also pointed to the "difficulty" of staff retention, saying that of the ten new staff that began work at Oberstown in this year, only two of them are still working on the campus. "We have staff who are trying to raise these issues with management at the Oberstown campus and we have a management group who appear unwilling, I think, to engage with the reality as staff are experiencing it," he said. Mr Shanahan said staff members, rather than management, are required to report incidents to gardaí, which he said suggests an "unwillingness" to take responsibility for what is happening to staff. He said the environment on campus is "becoming more and more unsafe" for both residents and staff. He said that Fórsa has contacted Oberstown management for an engagement, which he expects to take place in the next few days. "The longer this goes on and isn't addressed, the more unsafe everybody on the Oberstown campus is," he added. In a statement, the Department of Education said it offers its full support to any member of staff who has been injured during the course of their work. "As with all circumstances of this nature, these matters will be the subject of internal review. The Department does not comment on operational matters relating to Oberstown Children Detention Campus."
Irish Independent
35 minutes ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
Revealed: The Cork shop which sold this week's €250m Euromillions ticket - ‘It's huge… very exciting'
The shop, at 91 Shandon Street, is located on the northside of the city. Shop owner Ted Clifford has said it is a "very exciting" day for his store, which has been in operation for 95 years on Shandon St in the northside of the city. The shop sold a €100,000 winning ticket on New Year's Eve to a local customer, a moment that he said must have "started our winning streak". "It's huge, it's definitely going to be the hottest day of the year on Shandon St," he said. Speaking to RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Mr Clifford, who is the third generation to run the shop, said it was "fantastic news" to receive yesterday and they are "proud to be part of the community". On whether he has any idea who won the ticket, Mr Clifford said he has "no idea" as so many customers buy tickets in the run-up to a draw, but that he sends his "warmest congratulations" to the winner and their family. His shop receives €25,000 in prize money due to selling the winning ticket, with Mr Clifford planning a "big celebration" with his staff. And – although there has been no sight of the winner yet – the National Lottery also confirmed yesterday the Ireland's newest multimillionaire has made contact with the Prize Claims team. The contact came after days of speculation as to who the winner of the life-changing amount is. This person is the 18th winner in Ireland of the EuroMillions jackpot since it started in 2004. Speaking yesterday after the winner made contact, spokesperson for the National Lottery Emma Monaghan said; "We are absolutely thrilled to have heard from our EuroMillions winner. "At this point, our priority is to give them the necessary time and space to make arrangements and let this life-changing news sink in.' The record-breaking win surpasses the €175m record for the largest cheque ever presented to an Irish player, in February 2019. The winning numbers this week were: 13, 22, 23, 44 ,49 and the Lucky Stars were 3 and 5. The National Lottery has urged the winner 'to stay calm, get independent legal and financial advice and contact us as soon as they can'. Dolores McNamara from Limerick was Ireland's first EuroMillions winner, scooping over €115m in July 2005. The jackpot is capped once it reaches €250m. In total, over 92,200 players in Ireland won prizes in the EuroMillions and Plus games on Tuesday night.
The Journal
39 minutes ago
- The Journal
Nine staff members at Oberstown injured in third 'very serious' incident in ten days
NINE STAFF MEMBERS at Oberstown Children's Detention Campus were injured on Wednesday in an incident involving one detainee. Trade union Fórsa said four of the injured staff members required hospital treatment as a result of the incident. It comes after two teenagers who were accused of 'savagely' beating a 60-year-old man during a burglary while armed with a machine gun were released at the weekend due to lack of space at the detention campus. In February, The Journal reported that judges were unable to send a number of alleged child offenders to Oberstown because it is at full capacity. Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland this morning, Fórsa's media relations director Niall Shanahan said the latest incident is one of three 'very serious incidents' that have happened over a period of ten days. He said a member of staff was assaulted on 8 June. This staff member was also one of the nine staff injured on Wednesday. 'On 11 June, we had one very serious incident where a staff member had their face slashed. It's what's been described to me as a life changing injury.' According to Shanahan, staff at Oberstown have tried to raise 'mounting issues' in relation to staff assaults over the last number of years. Advertisement 'What we have is a situation that's becoming more and more critical, partly due to staff shortages. Staff have told me that it's quite frequently they don't have enough staff to cover the shift, so they are operating below capacity.' Staff retention is also an issue. Of the 10 new staff that Oberstown took in this year, only two of them are still working on the campus. Shanahan said the management group appear 'unwilling to engage with the reality as staff are experiencing it when when they're working their shifts'. 'Given the number of serious injuries that we've had over those three incidents over the last ten days, the staff members are themselves required to report these incidents to the Gardaí. Management don't report to the Gardaí that anything like this has taken place in the campus,' he continued. 'So it suggests an unwillingness, I think, to take responsibility to what's happening to the staff on the campus. But I think more crucially, what we have is an environment that's becoming more and more unsafe, both for residents and for staff.' Shanahan said he has been engaging with staff at Oberstown for the last 15 years, and this has become 'a feature of their working life'. Fórsa contacted the Oberstown management group 'as a matter or urgency', with a meeting expected to take place in the coming days. 'But at this particular point in time, I'm very mindful of the fact that we have, I think, four or five staff from Oberstown who are not going to be able to attend work for at least a month because of their injuries,' Shanahan said, adding that this 'further exacerbates' the staffing problem at the centre. 'The longer this goes on and it isn't addressed, the more unsafe everybody on the Oberstown campus is.' Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Irish Daily Mirror
19 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Daily Mirror
Minister says some rents may increase as he admits 41,000 homes 'not realistic'
Housing Minister James Browne has conceded that rents "may go up in certain cases" due to his new Rent Pressure Zone plans. The Fianna Fáil TD also admitted that the housing target of 41,000 in 2025 is "no longer realistic". Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs) are expected to be extended across the country by the end of the week after the Government's decision to rush the legislation through the Dáil. The RPZs restrict the amount that a landlord can increase rents by two per cent or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower. More sweeping measures will be introduced next March that will see tenants enter into six-year contracts. However, landlords will be able to increase the rent to market rates either at the end of the six-year period or whenever a tenant leaves voluntarily. This has led to concern that short-term renters, such as students, will be negatively affected by rent rises. It has also angered the opposition, who argue that landlords will be able to increase rents regularly. Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Minister Browne conceded that some rents may increase under the plans. He said: "The only way we can get rents down is to increase supply. That's having a certain system in place for tenants, for landlords and investors. "The current system is clearly not working. The Housing Agency report made that very clear, we have one of the toughest rent control systems in the world, and it is clearly impacting on supply. "Rents may go up in certain cases. I certainly hope they don't. "Our aim is to get rents down by increasing the level of supply. That's what we need to see happen." Speaking separately on Newstalk, Minister Browne also conceded that the Government will miss its housing target of 41,000. He said: "I think the challenge we have this year is we're coming off a much lower base from last year than was expected. We had hoped for much higher figures last year. "I think, looking at all of the different predictions, which are fairly consistent, I think 41,000 is not realistic for this year. "We will wait to see how the year works out. I don't particularly like getting into predictions. "My position as minister is to maximise supply, maximise the delivery of new homes and, irrespective of what the housing numbers will be this year, I'm making a step change so we can get that housing supply up, because we need to get from 30,000 onto 50,000, on to 60,000 houses. "40,000 houses is nowhere near enough." Social Democrats housing spokesman Rory Hearne criticised Minister Browne's comments. He said: "This morning, the Minister for Housing said that, in the wake of recent government policies, 'rents may go up… I certainly hope they don't.' "This interaction illustrates the government's uninformed, spray and pray approach to tackling the housing crisis – the Minister either knows his policies will cause an increase in rent cost, which he hollowly apologises for, or he doesn't understand how his policies will affect the market. "It's incompetence like this that has caused the Central Bank to downgrade its forecast for how many homes will be built this year and over the following two years – just when it looks like we can't fall any further, the government finds a way to worsen housing outlook."
Irish Independent
a day ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
Housing target of 41,000 ‘not realistic', says Housing Minister James Browne
Mr Browne has admitted previously that meeting the 2025 target would be "extremely challenging" and all predictions are trending around 34,000. Speaking on Newstalk on Thursday, he said he is committed to enacting a "step change" in the housing department and will clear "the dead wood out of the way so that homes can get delivered". "I think the challenge we have this year is we're coming off a much lower base from last year than was expected," he said of the housing targets. "We had hoped for much higher figures last year. "I think, looking at all of the different predictions, which are fairly consistent, I think 41,000 is not realistic for this year. "We will wait to see how the year works out. I don't particularly like getting into predictions. "My position as minister is to maximise supply, maximise the delivery of new homes and, irrespective of what the housing numbers will be this year, I'm making a step change so we can get that housing supply up, because we need to get from 30,000 onto 50,000, on to 60,000 houses. "40,000 houses is nowhere near enough." The last Fianna Fail-Fine Gael coalition built more than 130,000 homes between 2020 and 2024, while the current coalition has set a target of in excess of 300,000 new homes between 2025 and 2030. The target for this year is 41,000 new builds, despite the fact the Government missed its target of 33,450 last year and also missed its newbuild social housing target by 1,429 last year. The Central Bank has also projected the Government will miss its own housing targets by a wide margin for the next three years - and on Thursday revised its prediction down further, predicting 32,500 newbuilds by the end of 2025. ADVERTISEMENT The Government is being pressured again over the housing crisis after announcing a swathe of new rent and housing measures. This includes the introduction of rent caps nationwide of 2pc or to inflation, whichever is lower. This will apply to around a fifth of tenancies not already covered, but has been criticised for allowing rents to "reset" to the market rate when renters voluntarily leave a tenancy. New six-year minimum tenancies on offer from March next year have been criticised for allowing landlords to "reset" rents every six years. The Fianna Fail-Fine Gael Government, supported by several independents, has insisted boosting supply is the best way to encourage affordability while opposition parties argue more state-owned homes and regulation is needed. Meanwhile, speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland this morning as well, the minister said he expects that rent pressure zones could be extended to the entirety of the country by tomorrow night. He said: 'I have had to make choices, I have brought in a permanent rent control for the country. "It will begin on 1 March 2026 but we are taking emergency measures in the meantime. It will bring in important protections for rents. The important thing is for existing tenancies, about 200,000 people, nothing will change if you stay in your current tenancy. The current rule - that rent can only go up by inflation or only 2pc, whichever the lower - will remain. His comments come as he announced earlier in the week that it would be 'unworkable and unenforceable' to ask landlords to reduce rents for students. 'The second thing is what we expect from tomorrow night or certainly by the end of the week that we will have rent pressure zones extended to the entirety of the country. 'A further protection measure we are bringing in for renters is what's known as security of tenure. That will mean people will have certainty as to their rental position. However, to be able to bring that in under the advice of the constitution, because landlords have strong property rights, they need to be able to have some measure where they can reset their rent. The minister has previously discussed six-year minimum tenancies from March next year, which has been criticised by the opposition for allowing landlords to reset rents every six years or when tenants leave of their own volition. Minister Browne added: 'So the only way they would be able to reset their rent is if a tenant voluntarily leaves the property and a new tenant comes in. For example, if the landlord serves notice to quit, to sell a property, they won't be able to reset the rent, so there is no economic incentive to move them out. But if a tenant voluntarily moves out that landlord will be able to reset the rent.'
