Gardaí to call for children’s care service

GARDA sergeants and inspectors will this week call for a dedicated out-of-hours health service to care for children whom gardaí increasingly are having to mind in stations.

Middle-ranking gardaí want for Justice Minister Brian Lenihan to establish, in conjunction with all other relevant departments, a dedicated out-of-hours service, under the Health Service Executive (HSE) for the care and welfare of children and young people. The call for the service will be one of dozens of motions scheduled for the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) conference, which begins today in Trim, Co Meath.

Concerns about the inability to contact welfare services when children’s parents are jailed or young people are brought to stations have prompted the motion.