Court sets guidelines for detained children

The High Court has set down guidelines for all applications for the detention of disturbed children. In future the courts must be told whether the proposed premises has been inspected and certified as suitable to detain a child. The directions were "with a view to protecting and vindicating the rights and entitlements of these troubled children", Mr Justice Kelly said yesterday.

Earlier this month he learned that children subject to High Court detention orders in health board care had been put in centres run by private companies with no direct health board involvement.

The judge was concerned that he and others, including Mr Roger Killeen, a senior Department of Education inspector who attends applications to detain troubled children, had been unaware of that situation and he sought information from the health boards, the companies and the State.

Yesterday the judge said he was told last Thursday that the three Eastern Regional Health Authority boards in question wanted to give evidence last Friday.

He said the boards did not give him such evidence on Friday but asked him to discharge himself from the hearing. He refused and the boards said they would appeal that refusal to the Supreme Court and withdrew from the hearing.

The judge said he was grateful to the other parties involved for their willingness to proceed, and to the Minister for Health and Children's representative, who said matters of concern that had emerged would be followed up assiduously.

He then set out guidelines to govern such applications. These stipulate that where health boards propose to detain children in the care and control of non-health board employees, the court must be told "in clear and unequivocal terms".

The court must also have details of the non-health board personnel involved in providing services for the children, including their qualifications, training, experience and whether they have Garda clearance.

The court must also have details of the level and nature of the supervision to be exercised by the health board while children are in non-health board detention.

The judge further directed there must be a contemporaneous stenographic note of all future applications for the detention of children.