The Minister for Children vowed to free this brain-damaged boy... Yes, minister

THE shambles of care for children in crisis was exposed yesterday when a seriously-neglected, brain-damaged boy was put behind bars because there is no specialist unit in the country to meet his needs.

The suicidal 17-year-old is beginning his fifth week in Cloverhill Prison despite assurances by Minister for Children Brian Lenihan a week ago that a suitable place would be found for him.

The South Western Area Health Board, under whose care he falls, went on the defensive yesterday, telling the Dublin Children’s Court that the “complexity of his (the boy’s) needs presents a cocktail of circumstances verging on the unique.”

The board said there was “no immediate prospect of a placement being provided” and used the hearing to:

* Complain about media coverage of the boy’s plight.

* Argue the court had no legal powers to compel the board’s attendance and declare itself excused from future hearings.

* Accuse those who highlighted the boy’s case of breaching his right to privacy.

* Claim to have found a temporary placement for the boy when it was arranged through his solicitor.

Judge Bridget Reilly warned counsel for the health board not to use the court to make “political” statements. The boy’s solicitor, Sarah Molloy, described the board’s comments as “offensive.”

Ms Molloy said the temporary placement being considered, in a private facility called Freshstart, was offered when the facility contacted RTÉ after hearing her raise her client’s plight on radio. She added the health board had only suggested alternatives to prison when the media started highlighting his case.

“I find it offensive that the board could say there might be a breach of this child’s rights when he has been sitting in Cloverhill Prison in complete contravention of his rights.”

The boy is to be assessed by Freshstart today and if they can take him, they will offer him short-term care until early March when he will go to England for an assessment by a specialist unit. If he is accepted there, he will have a 6-8 week placement following which he will return to Ireland.

The health board is also insisting on having him assessed by a neuro-psychologist tomorrow despite a previous assessment arranged by Ms Molloy four months ago, which found his capacity for reasoning was seriously impaired. No plan was outlined for the boy’s future on his return from England should he be accepted there and no alternatives were offered if Freshstart cannot take him. Health board counsel Barry O’Donnell admitted: “there is no fall-back position.” Judge Reilly said she had no option but to return the boy to Cloverhill for another week. After the hearing, the boy’s aunts said they would hold the board responsible if anything happened to him. “He is getting worse all the time. We’re afraid that he’ll do damage to himself,” they said. A spokesman for Brian Lenihan said the minister was still hopeful that a proper placement would be found soon, but added the matter was in the hands of the health board.