The case of an out of control 12-year-old boy, facing 30 charges for a litany of offences and in need of a secure place to hold him, is to be taken to the High Court to vindicate his constitutional rights to care and protection, the Dublin Children's Court heard yesterday.
The troubled boy, from the north inner city, has been waiting since January for placement in a suitable facility.
He is beyond his family's control, and a secure and suitable placement was needed for him, the court had earlier heard.
He had been involved in "joyriding", public order breaches, phone snatches, assaults on gardaí, trespassing, possession of implements for use in larcenies and he had skipped court five times.
The boy was remanded in custody in Oberstown House in January until an appropriate placement was found, but was released in April when the court heard that no progress had been made.
The court heard yesterday that since his release he had been arrested for being intoxicated to such an extent that he was a danger to himself at 5 p.m. in the evening, and for theft of a mobile phone.
Judge William Hamill heard yesterday that a placement in the Crannog Nua facility in north Co Dublin, a unit run by the Northern Area Health Board, would not be available.
Solicitor Mr John Quinn told the court the boy's mother had instructed him to take the case to the High Court to vindicate the boy's rights to care and protection, and to compel the Northern Area Health Board to find a suitable placement for the boy.
Judge Hamill remanded the boy back into the custody of St Michael's Institution until Wednesday for clarification of Crannog Nua's criteria for admission to the facility.
He had heard that although the boy had been approved by the unit, that did not necessarily mean that he would be admitted.
Judge Hamill also ruled out as inappropriate two proposals from the health board to place the boy in a hostel under the care of youth workers, or to send him to St Lawrence's Institution. He did this because the boy would be able to leave either facilities if he pleased.