Teen care facilities - State fails its most vulnerable

THE appalling inadequacy of facilities for troubled teenagers in this benighted country is starkly underlined by today’s disturbing revelation that no service has yet been provided to fill the void left by the closure of the state’s main secure unit.

In typical fashion, the HSE was at pains to promise that the loss of the 12-bed mixed centre at Ballydowd last year would not mean fewer places for young people who rank among the most vulnerable in society. Not surprisingly, that has turned out to be yet another unfulfilled promise because, as we learn six months later, no alternative has so far been provided to fill the gap.

The state is duty bound to provide secure residential facilities for young people between the age of 12 and 17 who are detained for a short period by the High Court for their own safety and welfare.