€17m care bill for 27 troubled children

The State spent almost €17m last year keeping 27 troubled children in specialised residential care.

In addition, it spent €11,557 per week on six children sent on placement to Northampton in Britain, and €1,997 per week on a single child sent to Boystown in Nebraska.

The cost of sending a child to Oakview Hospital in Kent, a secure child and adolescent hospital, was not available.