Mother fears son’s death over lack of addiction aid

A MOTHER has claimed her 16-year-old son, who has serious drug and alcohol problems, will be “found dead on the street” because there are no services to help him.

A political controversy erupted over the same boy last year after he ended up sleeping in Mallow Garda Station because officers were unable to contact Health Service Executive (HSE) social workers out of hours.

Now, according to his mother, social workers are telling her there is “nothing they can do” and that her son, who has been classified as “at risk”, will have to wait at least six months for a bed in rehab.

“My son is 16 and he is a drug addict and an alcoholic. The problem is social services are not doing anything to help him.

“The guards are picking him up all the time but there is only so much they can do, the problem is his addiction — he needs help,” she said.

“Everyone who knows his case says he is at risk and is going to be found dead, but they keep telling me there is nothing they can do.”

The boy’s mother said she is being told that there is nowhere to put him. The boy was picked up by gardaí on Thursday night and brought to hospital and from there “disappeared”, his mother said.

“He desperately wants help. Social workers say he needs to help himself, but he hasn’t got the sense to help himself.”

Living near Fermoy with his mother, he “takes off and could be missing for days”.

“He has a major problem, cannot go a day without drink or drugs. I have been told they are going for an order which will allow them to put him into a secure unit, but that is going to take six months.”

She said it was possible to get immediate treatment in Britain, but the HSE was not willing to fund it.

“He cannot wait. I am not the only parent in this situation. I can’t understand why they will not do anything outside of office hours.”

A senior Garda source confirmed the situation. “I am aware of the mother’s concerns and I have sympathy with them. The HSE is actively involved in this case, and has processes to go through. We are working to try and come up with a solution.”

Sergeant Willie Gleeson of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors said it was left to gardaí to pick up the slack when social workers were not working.

He said it was “amazing” that on a bank holiday weekend the HSE provided an out-of-hours contact point between 10am and 4pm but that it did not see fit to have one on a regular weekend. “They are either obliged to provide an out-of-hours service or they are not,” he said.

In a statement responding to the claims, a HSE spokesperson said while a six-week drug and alcohol treatment programme is offered to vulnerable young people, “it is very disappointing when a young person self-discharges prior to completing the programme”.

“Those who complete the programme, and their parents, are offered a further two-year aftercare programme, including weekly group meetings in Cork,” the spokesperson said, adding that an emergency after-hours foster care service is also available to families “confronted with challenging circumstances”.