Judge wishes illiterate recovering addict 'good luck'

An illiterate recovering drug addict, who spent most of his teens living on the streets with no State assistance, was today wished “good luck” by a judge and released to complete a probation bond.

Judge Bryan Smyth told him: "Good luck I hope it works out for you," after hearing at the Dublin Children’s Court that the teen had been making good progress since the probation bond was imposed last October.

In review of the case, the defence solicitor explained that the teen was residing in hostel accommodation with support from social services, was attending drug rehabilitation counselling and working with the Probation and Welfare Services, which are conditions of the bond.

“That is a major achievement for him. There had been issues in relation to substance abuse; he had been on heroin for a number of years,” she said adding that he was functionally illiterate with no understanding of dates and time and that his offending was directly referable to his then chaotic lifestyle.

The teenager, who is now aged 18 and once described as having gone “feral”, appeared before the Children’s Court in connection with offences which occurred last year when he was still a juvenile.

A 12-month probation bond had been imposed last October.

He pleaded guilty to attacking a man on Lord Edward Street, Dublin 2, for his wallet, on June 7 last and possession of a stolen bank card, on April 1 last.

The Dublin youth also admitted the obstruction of a garda during a drug search on Thomas St, Dublin 2, on April 2. He had swallowed a number of tablets as a garda was about to search him under the Misuse of Drugs Act.

The youth, who had 22 previous convictions, been held in custody for a period last year on a High Court order on welfare grounds.

He had been homeless since he was 14 and was refused accommodation by State services. He then developed a chronic heroin addiction leading to his case being brought to the High Court last year, when he was 17, seeking a childcare order to detain him for his own safety.

This move she explained was taken “in a situation in which State agencies failed to intervene”, Ms Ghent had said.

At this stage she said the teenager had been “injecting heroin and cocaine into his groin and everyone believed he would live for just two weeks”.

Ms Ghent also said that the State had done him “a great wrong by leaving him on the streets”.

Throughout his period on the streets he was helped by Focus Ireland, the voluntary agency for the homeless. Focus Ireland’s staff had felt that he was severely at risk and nothing was being done by State agencies to help him.

His heroin addiction then deteriorated while his involvement in criminal activity, fuelled by a need to feed his drug problem, escalated, the court was told.

Ms Ghent also said that the youth was also refused homeless payments despite the fact that he had been homeless since he was 14.

As result of the High Court action which led to the teen being detained on welfare grounds, psychological assessments were ordered.

One psychological report on him stated that he “had a level of illiteracy rarely found in the general population, with limited comprehension of time, dates and seasons”.

Another psychological report said that the teenager’s ability to engage with the services put in place for him were limited.

During one meeting with a psychologist the teen was asked if he had been tested for HIV or Hepatitis C. The teen replied that he had tested negative, and then asked the psychologist what the word negative meant.

Following the High Court case, the health services put support services in place to assist the teenager. This involves accommodation in a hostel, a placement on a drug rehabilitation course and involvement of care workers.