More disclosures have emerged around issues at the Extern-operated Roscor Youth Village, with the latest involving a staff member bringing his collection of knives into the facility – a move which was defended by an Extern spokesperson as “essential to outdoor camping trips”.

Several former Extern staff and service users have already spoken of major concerns at the premises; a number of personnel have been named; however, we are identifying none at this stage.

Extern receives significant funding in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to provide community support services for young people experiencing difficulties and issues in their lives.

Previously, it was revealed a vulnerable service user referred to Extern by Social Services was sexually abused by their keyworker, who was based at Roscor, although offending did not occur on the premises.

He was successfully prosecuted, and while all relevant authorities in Northern Ireland were appropriately alerted, Extern failed to do so with Republic of Ireland counterparts, despite the requirement to do so. Extern declined to comment on this matter.

Situated between Enniskillen and Belleek in County Fermanagh, Roscor Youth Village is described as “a haven of hope for young people who need to take time out from the challenges in their home lives”.

Following publication of the sexual abuse matter, more people have come forward including staff – both former and current – as well as contractors and service users.

Each set out very specific concerns of their time with Extern, including allegations of poor safeguarding and claims of a culture of management bullying. Those who have spoken out are not being identified at this time due to fear of reprisals.

One former staff member, who we are calling ‘AB’, claimed numerous instances of procedural breaches, inappropriate behaviour, dangerous practices and failure to provide requisite training for dealing with very vulnerable, high-risk young people presenting with a range of complex emotional and psychological needs.

“Anyone raising concerns was seen as the enemy and working against the interests of Extern,” said AB.

“We were trying to deal with young people in very challenging circumstances, and it was their safety and well-being we were trying to protect.

“They had already experienced more trauma than any child should have to endure in their entire lives, and the principle of engagement was to support them out the other side through counselling, coping skills and diversion from negative influences.

“While there were some extremely positive results, others failed drastically. In some instances, matters simply should not have been permitted to reach the level they did.”

While working at Roscor, AB claimed a number of safeguarding incidents which although reported to management, were never properly or procedurally addressed. One occasion involved criminal behaviour when service users were caught with drugs; however, despite procedures, the PSNI were not informed.

AB said: “Along with other staff, I flagged this up. We were told in no uncertain terms to mind our own business – except this was our business. The young people were in our care. Someone, somewhere, was exploiting these young people, by supplying them with drugs.

“When we attempted to escalate the complaint, we were again told to back off as it wasn’t our job to give these kids a criminal record.

“We didn’t want that either, but drugs are illegal, and the earlier the intervention, the more chance of successfully steering young people away from them.

“It was also highly unlikely there would be a criminal charge, but at least these kids would be on the radar as at risk of [being influenced by] death-dealing drug lords, and closer attention could have been paid. This was a major child-protection issue.”

Another former staff member, who we are calling ‘CD’, described arriving at Roscor to discover a collection of knives on display, which were then photographed and shared on social media.

The cache of knives – including a machete – were brought in by a senior staff member, who then stored them in a locker which it was claimed had frequently been forced open in the past.

While the owner undoubtedly had the knives for legitimate purposes, such as fishing, their presence prompted CD to say: “You wouldn’t bring items like that into a school, a shop or anywhere else where they could pose a significant risk, so why bring them to Roscor?”

Extern was asked when it was alerted to the issue; how it was dealt with; and when all relevant agencies – including the PSNI – were informed.

An Extern spokesperson responded: “Extern provide experiential learning opportunities for young people who access our services, including outdoor activities such as camping and fishing.

“Extern staff leading these activities would bring camping and fishing equipment, and this often includes pocketknives for cutting lines and gutting fish, as well as a larger knife for cutting back gorse to allow for setting camp, as well as cutting logs for firewood.

“Included in the outdoor experience, the staff teams would also educate young people on how to fish and camp, and part of this includes safe use of the equipment that is essential to outdoor camping trips.

“Extern operates a double-lock system for all potentially harmful equipment, either on the premises or when running outdoor events.”

The spokesperson continued: “Extern can confirm that all incident logs have been reviewed and there is no record of any such incident of storage cabinets being forced open by service users. Extern has a strict health and safety policy, and all equipment is handled responsibly and locked away when not in use, using the double-lock system.

“Every activity led by Extern is always fully risk assessed before being embarked upon, and a strict duty of care is observed in all our events.”

When contacted in relation to the incident, the PSNI advised: “No corresponding report has been found.”