Girl who wants to be detained gets bail

“IT is extraordinary that in 2008 we should be having this case,” a judge at the Children’s Court said yesterday as he was forced for a third time to grant bail to a troubled girl who wants to be detained.

The 17-year-old girl, who is engaging in self-harm and wants to be detained, could not be held in custody because a detention centre was full, the court was told.

The girl, who while armed with a scissors attacked a care worker, and threatened to “slit her throat right in the jugular,” has already asked the court to sentence her. Health concerns have also arisen due to her being involved in incidents of self harm.

Defence solicitor Ms Sarah Molloy has contacted the girl’s local political representatives and has written to Health Minister Mary Harney, and Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Barry Andrews over the case.

A garda applied to have the girl, who has been residing in a non-secure care home, remanded in custody yesterday. Evidence was given detailing incidents where she broke her bail conditions by threatening care workers and breaching a curfew.

However, Judge Bryan Smyth was again told Oberstown Girls’ Centre in Dublin could not take any more people because of renovation work which may be completed by the end of the month.

It was the third time in recent weeks that an application to have the girl held in custody failed due to the limited number of spaces in the detention centre.

Ms Molloy asked Judge Smyth yesterday to order the remand in custody saying that would give grounds for the case to be brought to the High Court seeking and order of mandamus, which could force the state to carry out an order of the judiciary.

However, Judge Smyth refused saying that in effect he would be making a “bad order”.

“There is a lack of suitable facilities that is the problem and that is a matter for another agency not a matter for the court,” he said.

Judge Smyth said he wanted to make it clear that the court was very concerned about the girl and added that “I do not think the court should be put in this position and I think that common sense should prevail, that is the court’s view on it.”

He remanded girl, who was accompanied by a sister and social care workers, on bail to appear again later this month to see if a place would be available in the detention centre then.