THE CHILDREN'S COURT/Carl O'Brien: The 16-year-old homeless boy said plainly that he hadn't seen his parents in two years. Judge Michael Connellan, deciding whether the boy should be remanded in custody, sounded surprised.Carl O'Brien
"And where do they live?" he asked.
"Dunno," the boy said sullenly.
"And where do you live?" the judge asked.
"An out-of-hours place," the boy said, his hands stuck in his pockets.
The boy said he had an uncle in Ballymun but had little contact with him.
"Any why don't you live with him?" the judge asked.
"I do be in town, with my friends."
"And would you ever think of getting a job?" the judged asked.
The boy shrugged.
"I wouldn't think so," the judge said sharply. "And do you have any money?"
"No."
Garda Monica Costelloe from Tallaght Garda station, who arrested him earlier that day, said two bench warrants were issued for his arrest after he failed to turn up in court. He had also provided a false name and address when arrested, she said.
"I don't know if he's telling the truth or not," the judge said, sounding exasperated.
"Maybe we should put him into Cloverhill for a week," the judge said.
He called for the health board to be notified about the case, but said it would probably make little difference.
"The board will say they have no involvement because it is a criminal matter. They'll wash their hands of the boy by relying on what the Supreme Court has ruled," he said.
"I want action on this," Judge Connellan said, this time more sternly. "I don't want this young man to be wandering the streets with nowhere to go. He's wandering around doing nothing. I don't want to be held responsible for what happens."
The boy was remanded to Cloverhill Prison for a day until more information could be obtained about him. The youth, wearing a blue Nike T-shirt, threw his eyes upwards as the judge spoke and began to make his own way down to the cells of the court.
Another homeless teenager due before the court for a probation report following a theft offence failed to turn up in Court 55.
The judge issued a bench warrant for the 17-year-old's arrest and said he would not be held responsible for what could happen if he was allowed stay on the street.
"If anything serious happened, you know where the finger of blame will be pointed," the judge said. "I'm not going to go into all of that," he said, before stamping the probation sheet with a flourish. Later in the day another homeless 17-year-old appeared on theft and public order charges. The burly youngster with tangled hair spoke thickly and quickly as Judge Connellan tried to find out more about him.
"Do you have any parents?" the judge asked.
"I don't live with them," he said.
"And where do you live?" Judge Connellan asked.
"On the streets - although I'll live with my brother if I can contact him."
The judge inspected the charge sheets detailing the circumstances of the charges against the boy.
He remanded the boy in custody in St Patrick's Institution for a day to see if the boy's brother could be contacted.