Autistic man’s return from care in England deemed ‘catastrophic’

Returning a severely autistic young man from a British specialist unit to Ireland for a second time without an adequate aftercare plan would be "catastrophic", a High Court judge has said.

Ms Justice Bronagh O’Hanlon suggested it would make a “lot more sense” for the Health Service Executive (HSE) to continue funding the young man’s placement in the British unit, than fund a legal team to oppose the plan.

The man, now 19, was placed by order of the High Court in a secure unit in Britain in early 2013. In January 2014, aged 17, he came under the care of the Child and Family Agency (CFA), which paid for his care in the UK.

When 18, he passed into the care of the HSE, which has since funded his care at a cost of £170,000 (€203,580) per year. He has been assessed as being unable to live independently.

He transitioned to a less secure unit in 2014 and had been attending a local college, on an access programme.

However the HSE wants to return him here, saying he was originally placed in a UK unit by the CFA and was now an adult.

Rapid deterioration

He was brought back to Ireland on October 30th but an aftercare plan to place him a rented apartment with supports fell through. He was then returned to the family home. His mother told the High Court on Friday he had deteriorated rapidly, saw her as his enemy, had become menacing and was breaking items .

He was taken back to the British unit on Saturday morning to stay until the end of the month to allow the HSE put in place an alternative aftercare plan.

Ms Justice O’Hanlon said she was “completely frustrated by this case”. It had been on her list since July and had not progressed “one inch”.

“We cannot afford to step down a fellow with severe autism, and step him down badly, twice. That is catastrophic.

“I also think if you add up the cost of litigating this compared to the cost of actually paying for [the placement] it would make a lot more sense. It’s not ideal.”

The case returns to the High Court on Thursday.