A homeless boy who was promised "a bed and access to social services" in the High Court last May was left on the streets 11 of the 14 times he asked for a place over the following month, Eastern Health Board records show.
The board made the promise to the 17-year-old boy last May when he was released from one of its High Support Units. The EHB told the court it could do nothing more for him, but undertook to discharge its responsibilities by making the emergency bed, or "out-of-hours" service, available to him.
The stated reason that the boy did not get a bed on most occasions, which included two weekends, was that there was "no place available".
The records also show that another boy, who was promised the "highest priority" in the out-of-hours service in the High Court in mid-June, got a bed only three of the eight times he sought one in the fortnight following the hearing.
Statistics compiled by the out-of-hours office, detailing the numbers of children presenting since its establishment in 1993, show an overburdened service that is failing to cope with the growing tide of homeless children in Dublin.
The figures have never been made public by the EHB.
The number of homeless children coming to the out-of-hours service rose by 22 per cent in the first six months of 1997, following an increase of almost 100 per cent in 1996. Despite this, the maximum number of emergency beds available - eight - has not increased.
There were 1,599 referrals to the out-of-hours service in the first six months of 1997, just over one-third of which were successful in securing emergency beds. A referral occurs every time a child presents at a Garda station and asks for a bed. On average, 30 children came looking for a bed more than once monthly.
Last June saw more than 300 referrals to the out-of-hours service, an increase of almost 40 per cent on the same month last year.
On average, 14 children presented themselves to the service nightly, with as many as 17 on some nights. Just under half of these got an emergency bed. Of the remainder, 4 per cent were placed in other hostels; 4 per cent were sent to a hospital; 10 per cent were returned home; and 30 per cent received no service.
The rising number of homeless children follows the trend established last year, when there were 3,161 referrals to the out-of-hours service. This accounted for just under half of the total number of referrals since the service started four years ago.
Forty per cent of referrals to the out-of-hours last year were made by children aged under 16. This is a significant change from the 1995 proportion, when 60 per cent of referrals came from under-16-years-olds. But in absolute figures, the numbers of children referring in this age category doubled.
Sixty-one per cent of referrals were made by boys in the first six months of the year, unchanged from the 1996 proportion. Three-quarters of the referrals made last year were repeat referrals, i.e. made by the same child more than once. This suggests that the "emergency" bed scheme is in fact a form of long-term accommodation for many homeless children.
The number of children presenting to the out-of-hours service represents only part of the total number of homeless children in Dublin.