A vulnerable young person could be at risk of causing fatal harm to herself or others if Tusla fails to follow a High Court directive to place her in secure care, the court has been told.
Tusla, the State’s child and family agency, has yet to comply with the order due to a shortage of available places across the country’s three secure care units, reports Breaking News.
Children aged between 11 and 17 who are considered highly vulnerable or at risk can be detained in what is known as special care, following a High Court order obtained by Tusla.
The teenage girl is one of six minors currently without access to a special care bed, with their situations reviewed by Judge John Jordan on Monday, reports Breaking News.
Only 15 of the State’s 26 designated special care beds are currently operational, largely due to significant staffing shortages, as each bed requires seven staff members.
Donal Ó Muircheartaigh, representing the child’s court-appointed advocate, said her condition has deteriorated further since the court was last updated on her situation, reports Breaking News.
Counsel told the court that the girl, who has attempted suicide multiple times, was recently discovered carrying a Stanley knife and is now facing criminal charges under weapons legislation.
Ó Muircheartaigh said the child had made alarming remarks, stating that “if she doesn’t kill herself, she will kill someone else”, reports Breaking News.
He stressed that it was “very, very clear” that without immediate placement in secure care, there is a genuine risk that “someone… will die”.
The court heard that the teenager “desperately, fervently” wishes to be placed in secure care, reports Breaking News.
Judge John Jordan said he wanted the order requiring her placement in secure care to be carried out.
He agreed with counsel’s warning, stating: “Unless this child is placed immediately in special care in accordance with the special care order, there could well be… a fatality, or more than one,” reports Breaking News.
In a separate case, the judge approved a seven-week extension for a teenager who has been in secure care for more than a year.
Shane Costelloe, representing Tusla alongside Sarah McKechnie, requested the extension as a step-down placement had been identified for the young person, reports Breaking News.
He explained that the placement depends on two other children leaving the facility, but said Tusla does not expect any issues with this arrangement.
With the current order due to expire this week, the extension was sought to allow time for the transition to the new placement, reports Breaking News.
Maeve Cox, acting for the minor’s grandmother, opposed the extension, arguing that continued detention in secure care was no longer beneficial.
She also contended that the legal criteria required to justify special care detention were no longer being met, reports Breaking News.
Alan Brady, for the child’s court-appointed advocate, said his client was not opposing the extension “with a heavy heart”, noting that she has long sought a move to a step-down setting.
The judge referred to a letter presented in court outlining the teenager’s wish to leave secure care.
He noted her view that if she had not been placed in a special emergency arrangement (SEA) after an earlier period in secure care, her current situation would not have arisen, reports Breaking News.
“Things got really bad when I was in the SEA,” she said, according to the letter,
SEAs involve privately arranged accommodation such as rented apartments, holiday lets, or hotel rooms, often used by Tusla for children in its care, but they are not regulated under legislation or inspected by the health watchdog Hiqa, reports Breaking News.
In delivering his decision, the judge described Tusla’s ongoing difficulty in securing appropriate placements for young people leaving secure care as a persistent issue.
He acknowledged that while a placement had been identified, it remains dependent on other minors being discharged from that facility, reports Breaking News.
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