Children’s needs being ignored due to pressure on care services

The HSE could not find space in secure care to help a troubled teenager engaging in significant antisocial behaviour and abusing drugs — despite social service experts warning he was at risk of falling deeper into crime.

The case has been revealed in a series of files on care order applications by the State last year which have been released by the Child Care Law Reporting Project.

Documents underline the difficulty for state services and the juvenile justice system in providing children in difficulty with the care they need, with the ongoing pressures being placed on existing services top of the agenda.