Boy lost two stone while taking head shop drugs

The High Court heard that the teenager lost two stone since the last court sitting regarding his case, with the HSE looking at the possibility of an overseas non-detention placement for him.

Mr Justice George Birmingham heard that the teenager is on remand at a detention centre, where he tested positive for amphetamines and benzodiazepines. He also faces criminal charges in the District Court.

The court was told the boy had been attending head shops and it was drugs from these to which he had tested positive.

The court also heard he had been staying away from home two or three nights at a time and there was also a worry that his brother is due to be released from prison today following a drugs conviction and "there are concerns that he could be led even further astray".

The court was told that the HSE seemed to be trying to disengage with the situation surrounding the boy, but SC for the HSE Felix McEnroy said the body was looking at his circumstances although he added, given the boy had disengaged with his social worker and other services, "a therapeutic order to detain here was very thin" and, while the HSE was involved, the District Court also had a role to play.

Mr Justice Birmingham adjourned the case and said the ball appeared to be in the court of the District Court.

In another case on the Minors’ List, the court was told that a detention order in Britain may be sought for a 14-year-old girl from the west of Ireland who wrecked a ward at a care facility

A local consultant psychiatrist in the west has identified a place in Britain which could cater for the girl, although the court heard she would need to be assisted in any transfer.

She is currently involved with a care facility in the west, but Carmel Stewart SC said: "She is beyond their capacity effectively, Judge, and would not be able to manage her."

In another case a video link is to be set up for a girl based in Cork, and the subject of a detention order, so she can address the court regarding her current situation.

The court heard that she was considered as the highest absconding risk with "a high level of ingenuity", but that she also held very strong views about what was best for her.

Source: Noel Baker, The Irish Examiner, 23/04/2010