Court told of troubled boy's progress

A troubled 13-year-old boy has made some progress since being moved from premises run by a private company, with whom he was placed by a health board, to a State-run remand unit, the High Court has heard.

The boy is alleged to have been sexually abused in the past and has been described as being alone in the world, with no parental involvement in his care. It was ultimately proposed that he should be placed in the new Ballydowd special care unit.

The judge said that since he had expressed concerns last March about troubled children being placed with the private company, Community Children's Centres Ltd (CCCL), he had received no further applications from the health board concerned - the Northern Area Health Board - for orders detaining children in premises operated by the company.

The judge was told last March that 53 disturbed children in the care of health boards had been placed over a number of years in the custody of a private company, which had housed them in rented premises never formally inspected by health board inspectors over a two-year period.

The judge had learned of the company's involvement with the children when dealing with the case of the 13-year-old boy, who is in the care of the health board and was until last March placed in units operated by CCCL. While there, he escaped from one unit and stole a minibus and crashed it, sustaining minor injuries.

Mr Justice Kelly directed that the boy should remain in the remand unit, with permission for mobility trips at the discretion of management.