A place may be found within months for a troubled boy in a state-of-the-art children's unit, the High Court has been told.
The 13-year-old boy, who has been in care since he was five, has spent the last 18 months in a secure unit due to the absence of an appropriate alternative.
Mr Justice Kearns remarked yesterday that there seemed to have been no solution to the boy's plight until the matter came before the High Court. It seemed to be the case that only when matters came into court was urgent action taken.
The judge also heard that two state-of-the-art residential units for troubled children, which were built to care for 48, could only care for 13 children due to a national shortage of childcare staff.
Mr Gerard Durcan SC, appearing for the boy, said if those units were fully operational, the problems in securing appropriate accommodation for troubled children would substantially "melt away".
Mr Durcan said he had been involved in the landmark FN case in 1995 when the High Court had declared these children had constitutional rights to appropriate care and accommodation. He had not thought then that, eight years later, he would still be litigating the issue.
The court was dealing with the case of the 13-year-old boy who suffers from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and also may have an attachment disorder.
He is in the care of the Northern Area Health Board (NAHB), and has been in a secure unit for 18 months despite a consensus among social workers and other professionals involved with him that that placement is no longer appropriate.
Because of the failure to move the boy to an appropriate placement, his lawyers initiated legal action claiming his detention unlawful.
When the case opened before Mr Justice Kearns on Tuesday, he was told by the director of Crannóg Nua, a 24-bed, high-support unit for troubled children at Portrane, Co Dublin, that it had just four children in place and hoped to take another by July.
Ms Anne Wall said there was a moratorium on recruitment of staff in place and a national shortage of childcare staff. The staff shortage meant Crannóg Nua was not operating to capacity.
Mr Justice Kearns also heard that an application for the boy's admission to the unit had previously been rejected by the admissions committee, but Ms Wall said it would be prepared to consider another application.
The judge adjourned the case to yesterday for clarification. He was told by Mr Aongus Ó Brolcháin SC, for the NAHB, that the admissions committee would consider within 10 days an application to admit the boy and, if it decided to admit him, it was hoped he could be taken in by August or October at the latest.
Mr Ó Brolcháin said there were difficulties in recruiting staff. Campaigns here, in Britain and in Canada had yielded just 35 recruits. Another campaign was starting immediately.
Mr Durcan, for the boy, said he was glad to hear steps were being taken to have Crannóg Nua up and running fully. The question of a moratorium on recruitment "seems to have disappeared".
He said the boy's guardian was concerned an impression had been created that the child was recalcitrant and difficult when the view of staff dealing with him was that he was quite reasonable and had settled well in the secure unit for a five-month period.
He said if the child was not moved to an appropriate place, he would pursue the action alleging his detention unlawful.
Mr Justice Kearns said he would give the NAHB seven days to convene the admissions committee meeting. He adjourned the matter for two weeks.
