A disturbed teenage boy who suffered violent sexual fantasies has made great progress since he was placed last year in a specialised secure unit in Scotland because there was no appropriate place in the Republic, the High Court was told yesterday.
The boy is ready to be moved to a new high-support unit in the State.
In care since he was nine, the mildly mentally handicapped boy, now aged 14, had been sexually abused as a child and has a history of violence and arson. He was placed in several institutions in the Republic, including a State remand centre and non-secure residential units. None of the units was regarded as suitable to his needs.
Mr Justice Kelly, in the High Court last year, directed the Southern Health Board, which has statutory responsibility for the boy, to seek an appropriate place outside Ireland. The judge directed that the boy be placed in the Scottish unit.
Yesterday the manager of the Scottish unit said the boy had "come on tremendously" and was ready to be moved to a high-support unit in the State. The court was told the unit would cater for five children and would be complete by August 31st.
Granting an application by Mr Angus O Brolchain SC, for the SHB, to allow the boy to be moved from the Scottish unit on that date, Mr Justice Kelly expressed gratitude to the Scottish unit for the work it had done with the boy and also praised the SHB for its "innovative approach" to the situation.
Since being placed in the Scottish unit, he had made very substantial progress, he said.
This was not to say the boy's problems had been solved, the judge added.
