No jail for heroin addict mum guilty of child neglect

A chronic heroin addict whose 15-month-old son was found with cuts, bruises and burns to his body while lying in a bedroom that had "evidence of drug use" has been given a suspended sentence.

The 40-year-old woman, who is also the mother of six other children and cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to wilfully neglecting the child on December 16, 2005.