High Court hears challenge by mother of newborn taken into care

The High Court has heard that if the HSE releases a three-day-old child from care, the infant and its mother will reside away from her partner until a court hearing next week.

The woman’s husband has been described in HSE reports as "manipulative, bullying and controlling".

The breast-fed baby was born on Wednesday and was taken into care on Thursday following an emergency District Court application.

The social worker told the court that the welfare of the day-old infant was paramount when the HSE applied for the emergency care order..

The identity of the baby or its parents, or publication of any detail that might lead to identifying any of them, has been banned by the court, which heard there were “certain existing allegations” against the father which had been of concern to the HSE.

The court has heard the mother also has a teenage daughter in care over allegations about an assault against her husband.

The social worker has given evidence that the mother of the infant has prioritised her partner over her child and has misled the HSE in the past about their relationship.

The mother is challenging the lawfulness of the baby's detention and is prepared to give an undertaking to live apart from her partner.

The social worker however said the mother doesn’t believe her husband poses any risk towards her child, and added that she (the social worker) is not satisfied by the woman’s promise to live apart from her husband if the infant was released from HSE care until a further court hearing.

The mother’s lawyers expressed concern that her relationship with the HSE has broken down and have suggested that the social worker is abusing her position.

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