Court hears of risk for teenager who has taken up with crack cocaine users around Grafton Street

A teenage boy who has taken up with a group of homeless crack cocaine users living in tents around Grafton Street, Dublin, needs to be placed in secure care, the High Court has heard.

If he is not placed, he is at risk of death, it has been claimed.

The court heard the Child and Family Agency (CFA), which provides places for vulnerable children like him, has assessed him as needing secure care but says there are “no beds available” in any of its secure units.

On Friday, his mother, supported by his father and his court-appointed guardian, was granted permission by the court to challenge the decision of the CFA to defer applying to court for a “special care order” providing for a secure placement.

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In the proceedings, it is claimed the boy was put into secure care a year ago by the High Court. While he was initially involved in assaults and threats on staff, property damage and absconding, he made significant progress over the next ten months and was discharged to a non-secure residential care unit in October.

But he soon regressed and began to abscond frequently back to his home area until he was assaulted by his local peer group.

He then started to frequent Dublin city centre where he joined a group of known homeless males who are known crack cocaine users living in tents around Grafton Street. CFA staff frequently collected him from the city centre but he would jump from the moving car while on its way back to his care unit, it is claimed.

It is suspected he has been using crack cocaine which could have lethal consequences for him, particularly as he has not been taking his epilepsy medication. His parents, social worker and guardian all agreed there is a significant risk to his life.

In her proceedings against the CFA, his mother says that despite making an assessment last Tuesday that he needed secure care, the CFA decided to defer applying to the court for a special care order to enable him to be put back into a secure unit.

Michael Lynn SC, for the boy and his mother, said the CFA was not in compliance with its statutory duty to apply for a special care order.

Although the case was before the judge who deals with special care orders on Thursday, that judge has very limited jurisdiction unless an application is made to him for an order. That judge expressed the view that the situation was one of life or death, the boy’s whereabouts are not known but it is hoped he will be found.

In those circumstances, the boy’s mother applied on Friday to Mr Justice Charles Meenan, who is in charge of the judicial review list, to bring proceedings seeking declarations and orders requiring the CFA to act.

Counsel said it was also their case that in 2019, another High Court judge had ruled that once the CFA assesses a child as requiring a special care order, the agency is then obliged to apply for the order whether it has a place or not.

Mr Justice Meenan granted leave to bring proceedings as he was satisfied arguable grounds had been made out on behalf of the mother. He granted Mr Lynn’s request that the case come back early next week as counsel said the “primary thing is that we want something to happen to make the child safe”.