Children’s rights – Boy must be given proper care — now

Despite a virtual assurance last week that a place would be found for the brain-damaged 17-year-old boy who has been held at Cloverhill Prison, he was sent back to the prison for a further week yesterday.

Precious time has been lost in which this boy might have been helped. This includes wasting court time and prison time on what is really a health problem. The boy has been before the High Court 32 times in recent years.

The South Western Area Health Board now suggests that it has found a place for the boy but needs more time to access the suitability of that place. In fact, the centre involved rang RTÉ last week, after the case was reported, to say that it could take the boy.