Teen moved to new centre to protect staff

A Health board today had a 14-year-old boy moved from a high-support unit in Dublin to a therapeutic centre in Northern Ireland because it did not want to put its own staff at risk.

The boy had been arrested on Sunday night at the secure high-support centre, the Ballydowd Special Care Unit, in west Dublin for assaulting one of its staff members causing her harm, the Dublin Children’s Court heard.

Judge Sean McBride was also told that this was the third of a number of incidents in the unit involving the boy.

The boy, who is in the care of the South Western Area Health Board, had earlier been placed in the Ballydowd Special Care Unit by order of the High Court.

The health board had yesterday brought the case to the High Court seeking an order permitting them to move the boy from its centre to a special facility in Northern Ireland for troubled children.

The boy’s solicitor Ms Sarah Molloy said that the authorities, which run the Ballydowd Special Care Unit’s "are not willing to have their staff members take the risk to work with him again".

The case, which had been on the court’s morning list of business was then adjourned until yesterday afternoon to learn whether the High Court would allow the move.

When the case resumed Ms Molloy said the High Court had granted permission for the SWAHB to remove the boy from Ballydowd and to send him to the Extern West Centre in Roscor, Co. Fermanagh for therapeutic and residential care.

A representative for the health board told the court that, if bail was granted, the arrangements for the boy’s move would involve two officials from the SWAHB who would accompany the boy to the unit in Fermanagh and stay with him there, Judge McBride heard.

After hearing that the placement in the facility in Northern Ireland had been approved by the High Court, Judge McBride granted bail on the assault charge. Conditions of bail were that the teenager would immediately proceed to the unit Fermanagh, in the company of the SWAHB officials and at all time must comply with their directions.

The case was adjourned until Thursday.