From 'Appalling Criminality' to Hugs: Child's Remarkable Recovery

A young child who was “involved in appalling criminality” is now “asking for hugs, requesting bedtime stories” and playing board games since getting a special care bed, the High Court has heard. Mr Justice John Jordan on Monday paid tribute to the dedication of special care staff. However, he said, it remains “completely unacceptable” that three children, for whom he has made orders for their detention in special care, remain at risk in the community. The judge hears the weekly special care list, including updates on those in this most secure form of care because they pose a risk to themselves or their community. He considers Tusla applications for children to be detained. Amid ongoing challenges recruiting and retaining special care workers, just 15 of the State’s 26 special care beds are operational across three units. The young child (aged younger than 13) accessed a bed in the past week, 10 weeks after the judge ordered their detention in special care. In November, Dublin District Court Judge John Campbell said he was “incandescent with rage” that Tusla had not provided a secure bed for the child, “at risk of death” due to their use of drugs, involvement in transporting drugs and travelling in stolen cars. Tusla barrister Paul Gunning said on Monday: “It is striking that when [the child] was in the community [they were] ... involved in all sorts of appalling criminality. “In special care [the child] is asking for hugs, requesting bedtime stories, playing jenga and snakes and ladders and other things more typical for an [...] year old.” The mother of a teenage boy unable to access a special care bed remains “extremely concerned” for his safety, the court heard. He “continues to be missing” from his current placement and is involved in criminality. Maeve Cox, for the boy’s court-appointed advocate, said he is “becoming more isolated and desperate to repay his [drug] debt”. The advocate “continues to be of the view he requires special care as a matter of utmost urgency”. A girl who cannot access a special care bed was brought by gardaí to a placement outside Dublin in recent days. “The move to that placement did not go well,” said Mr Gunning. “[The girl] assaulted staff and smashed every window in the house when she had arrived. She had to be arrested by gardaí.” The case of a third child has been prioritised. He was found in recent days with a significant quantity of drugs, including heroin and crack cocaine, and a sum of money. Judge Jordan made a search and locate order, directing gardaí to bring the boy to a named special care unit where a bed was expected to become available. Barrister Brendan Hennessy, for the boy’s father, said this was “very good news”. The court heard six sets of legal challenges are in train against Tusla for its alleged failure to comply with High Court orders it had sought to detain children at extreme risk in special care. Some of these children are now in special care. Judge Jordan visits special care units to meet staff and children regularly. He praised the “excellent management and care” afforded to the children. “I shudder to think what would happen if the expertise and dedication are diminished by people leaving [the special care profession],” he said.