A HIQA inspection of a special care facility for children at Ballydowd in Lucan, Co Dublin has found that night time staffing levels have led to a reliance on An Garda Síochána to maintain the safety of staff and children.
The inspection report found that while staffing during the day was sufficient, reduced staffing at night presented a challenge when incidents escalated.
It also found that not all staff were properly trained for the role.
A significant risk was identified in the management of allegations against staff, which HIQA found were not always managed appropriately.
At the time of the inspection one young person was missing from care.
There had been 35 incidents of absconding from the unit since HIQA's inspection in September 2015.
22 incidents related to two young people.
The unannounced HIQA inspections took place in August and September this year.
Ballydowd is a secure special care facility catering for 11-17 year olds. At the time of the inspection there were five people living in the centre.
