Care workers complain hands are tied by law

CARE workers say they are powerless to prevent a repeat of the Tracey Fay tragedy because their hands are tied by the law.

They want greater freedom to decide how to protect troubled children and for the law to back them where they decide a child needs to be restrained for their own safety.

Under current regulations, children like Tracey – who have committed no crime – are accommodated in open residential units except in extreme circumstances where their detention in a locked, secure unit must be sanctioned by the courts.