A pregnant 15-year-old girl, who absconded from the Southern Health Board's Knockmahon care unit on December 16th, gave herself up on Tuesday evening to gardai at Blackrock in Cork, the High Court was told yesterday.
The court heard that the girl is 22 weeks pregnant and spent Tuesday night in the Bridewell Garda station in Cork before being brought to Dublin yesterday morning.
Ms Teresa Blake, counsel for the health board, told Mr Justice Paul Carney the girl had first been given a medical consultation and that a special care worker had spent Tuesday night with her in the Garda station.
Ms Niamh Hyland, counsel for the Minister for Education, said there had been a warrant for the girl's arrest and gardai had been searching for her since December 16th. She had phoned the Garda station on Tuesday and said she wished to give herself up.
Ms Niamh Stewart, counsel for the girl, said that, when examined by a doctor, the girl was found to have a kidney infection. The doctor recommended she be seen by a medical consultant. Ms Stewart said she would ask the health board for this to be arranged immediately.
Ms Blake told the court that on December 12th last Mr Justice Peter Kelly had ordered the girl to be detained in Knockmahon care unit. She had absconded from her flatlet there four days later. A Garda search for her had proved fruitless, but after she rang the Garda station on Tuesday she was collected from a friend's home.
Ms Blake said the health board now had high security accommodation suitable for the girl at its Gleann Aileann care unit and she asked that the girl be detained there until January 19th when the case was next listed before Mr Justice Kelly.
Mr Justice Carney ordered that the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, be detained there until then. He directed, should she abscond from there before that date, that the gardai search for her, arrest her and bring her before him in the High Court.