A 14-YEAR-old boy described as a “grave risk” to himself and society was released back on to the streets yesterday.
At the Dublin Children’s Court, Judge Heather Perrin held that she did not have the power to detain him on welfare grounds and she was concerned that two psychiatric reports had diverse views on the boy’s problems.
Until yesterday, the teenager had been held in custody in a detention centre, on remand, after he was charged with assault causing harm to a female care worker, on March 26th last.
Due to his problems, the boy has been turned down placements at up to 15 Health Service Executive (HSE) care units. He had been refused a place in or released from 16 privately run care homes in the State and had been sent by the HSE to a care facility in Manchester, in England, but was asked to leave after 14 days.
Now he is to be sent to a special secure unit for troubled children in Scotland because there is no therapeutic facility in Ireland that can deal with his problems, the court was told.
Mary Phelan, for the HSE, told Judge Perrin that the unit in Scotland was suitable “given the nature of his issues”. However, legal technicalities needed clarification before he could be sent.
Defence solicitor John Quinn said his client was seeking bail to spend time with his family before taking up this placement. He submitted that the Children’s Court did not have the power to detain a child for welfare reasons.
Objecting, Sgt Barry Moore said the boy has made threats against staff at his last care home. “There is no place within the State can cater for his needs,” he also said.
The boy would have to live in “out of hours” emergency hostel accommodation, if he were granted bail, the court heard.
But his social worker told the judge the teenager needed to be in a stable environment for his medication to be administered.
He said that if bailed to stay in a hostel, extra care staff would be allocated to be with him around the clock. However, they would be powerless to stop the teen from absconding.
He said the boy posed a “grave risk” to “himself and society.” Previously the teen had mixed his medication with alcohol and illegal drugs. The social worker said if that were to recur: “The consequences – I do not want to contemplate what they will be.”
Judge Perrin agreed she could not hold the boy in custody on welfare grounds and granted conditional bail.
The boy, whose mother and other family members were present, was ordered to sign on daily at a north Dublin Garda station, not to use alcohol or illegal drugs and to comply with all advice and assistance offered by his social workers.
The case was put back for a week with liberty to re-enter if the teenager broke his bail conditions.
Earlier, the court had been told that two psychiatric reports from separate doctors contained different findings on whether he had a mental disorder and was fit to plead.