At the High Court, Mr Justice John Jordan said it was 'wholly unacceptable' that an order for a girl's detention in a specialist setting here was not given effect to by the Child and Family Agency . Photograph: Bryan O'Brien/The Irish Times
The court heard her life had been in jeopardy “every single evening”, and the judge said she was being exploited to an “extraordinary degree” and in a way that would likely affect her for the rest of her life. She was a young girl with many troubles in life, and “nobody to stand up for her”, he said.
His order had not been implemented due to a shortage of places in the State’s three specialist secure centres arising from a staffing crisis in the sector. The judge noted there are currently eight highly at-risk children who have not entered special care on foot of his orders. His special care order for the 17-year-old “should not be discharged”, and it should not have been necessary to obtain a High Court order, under the court’s inherent powers, permitting her transfer to Britain because of “system failures in Ireland”. He said this was a “disgraceful situation”.
Mr Justice Jordan said he had to find out which party, whether a Government Minister or other body, was in a position to resolve what is preventing a child such as this girl from receiving a special care placement here.
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Source: IrishTimes - 🏆 3. / 98 Read more »