A baby has been found in a lane whilst his young mother smoked heroin nearby.
The baby was saved by gardaí and immediately placed into care following the discovery.
The report stated that the baby looked grubby and very distraught.
It is one of 20 childcare cases in the latest report from the Child Care Law Reporting Project.
The young mother of the baby was placed in a residential care unit . When she turned 18, she had to leave and find private rented accomodation.
A clinical psychologist and a drug treatment worker both said that the mother had a beautiful relationship with her son and innate parenting skills.
If successfully attends residential treatment and supports were put in place for her, it was possible she could care fully for her son.
An 14-month short care order was granted by a judge which would expire when the mother turned 21.
However, the mother had become overwhelmed by her addiction, unaided by treatment programmes, and was sleeping rough.
A full Care Order until the age of 18 was granted for the young child as a result.
“The reports include a number of exceptionally lengthy and complex cases. These reveal the difficulties that arise in certain cases, especially those involving allegations of child sex abuse, when there are disputes about the admissibility of hearsay evidence and when Garda and other interviews with children are the subject of criticism,” explained CCLRP Director, Dr Carol Coulter.
“In several of these cases there were lengthy delays in interviewing the children about the allegations. We hope that the State agencies involved in these cases can learn from these detailed reports,” she said.