Girl in care wins plaudits for academic achievements

A 15-year-old girl who was taken into care three years ago because it was feared she could be dead within days has scored major honours in her Junior Certificate and is ready to be discharged, the High Court was told yesterday.

The girl secured two A grades and one B grade in her Junior Certificate and is to be discharged shortly - on her 16th birthday - from the Eastern Health Board unit, Newtown House, where she is currently being held. Alternative support arrangements have been made for her.

Mr Justice Kelly said the girl had a most troubled background as a result of which she had to be taken under the care of the EHB, and it was a tribute to herself, EHB staff and teachers that she had achieved Junior Certificate results "of which any parent would be proud".

This achievement was even more remarkable because of the appalling background of the girl, the judge said.

He added that people often took the view that many of the troubled children who appeared before the courts "could be vulgarly described as no-hopers". But in many cases that was not so. Many of the children had potential which, if directed and cared for properly, they could achieve.

The judge said he would approve the discharge of the girl from Newtown House on her 16th birthday and also the alternative support arrangements made for her. He put the matter back for a final review in two weeks' time for the purpose of assessing the transition to the new arrangements.

"I wish her well in the future," he added.

Mr Gerry Durcan SC, for the girl, said she was taken into care in 1995 in a situation "so acute" that lawyers had to go to court on a Friday to seek an order because they feared she would be dead by the following Monday. She had achieved considerable success since then.

The only disturbing aspect of the case was that it highlighted the difficulty some children have in moving on from care institutions, he said. The girl had run away for a period because she was unhappy at the follow-on arrangements initially proposed for her, he said.