A 15-year-old boy was left “institutionalised” and unfit for mainstream education after he was detained in a controversial children's care facility, a court heard today.

The High Court has further extended the detention of a 14-year-old boy with a history of violence and inappropriate sexualised behaviour who has been at a special care facility for children since the weekend pending his proposed transfer to a special unit in Scotla

A 14-year-old boy, who sexually assaulted two women and in another incident held a knife to a pregnant woman’s stomach, has received suspended sentences at the Dublin Children’s Court.

A 14-year-old boy, who is in care, is at the centre of a legal dilemma over his future welfare and accommodation, the Dublin Children’s Court heard yesterday.

A TROUBLED 15-year-old girl who has been using drugs and has gone missing 25 times this year has been further remanded in custody until Friday pending efforts to place her into foster care.

CONCERNS were raised by a state agency that teenagers needing mental health services are being detained by court order in a locked facility simply because they can’t access help elsewhere.

The prosecution of a troubled 14-year-old girl, who allegedly took part in an arson that caused €15,000 worth of damages to her family home, is to be challenged in the High Court.

A 14-year-old boy, who set fire to a room with children in it, is to stay in custody pending efforts by the Health Service Executive to find a suitable therapeutic care home placement for him.

The Ballydowd Special Care Unit, currently Ireland’s only secure facility that provides therapeutic intervention for children with serious emotional and behavioural problems, has rejected an application to take a 14-year-old boy who has tried to kill himself three times.

The Children’s Court case of a 14-year-old boy, who has tried to kill himself three times, has been adjourned pending efforts to have him placed in the Ballydowd Special Care Unit, a secure therapeutic facility.

The case of a 14-year-old boy, who has tried to kill himself three times, is to be brought to the High Court for a judicial review in an effort to compel the Health Service Executive to provide him with therapeutic help.

A judge today accused the Health Service Executive of obstructing a court case by withholding evidence from gardaí and a 15-year-old defendant charged with assaulting a care worker in the Ballydowd Special Care Unit.

A Health board today had a 14-year-old boy moved from a high-support unit in Dublin to a therapeutic centre in Northern Ireland because it did not want to put its own staff at risk.

A teenage boy spent years living on the streets of Dublin after he left home to escape from his alcoholic parents, a court heard today.

A health board has pledged to provide a brain damaged child with care after he reaches adulthood, a court heard today.

THERE was growing concern last night for a disturbed teenage girl who has been missing for over two weeks.

A SPECIAL care unit for disturbed children, which was built following a 1998 High Court order to the State authorities, is not designed to meet their needs, the unit’s manager told the court yesterday.