A 13-year-old"out of control" boy who sped through Tipperary and Limerick at 90 m.p.h while being pursued by gardaí has been released on bail of €3 because facilities to house offenders of his age are full.
The boy's release came despite a plea from the boy's mother to put her son under strict supervision before he hurt someone or killed himself.
Judge Tom Fitzpatrick told Nenagh District Court it appeared nothing had being done about the situation of young offenders over the past 10 or 15 years, the period he had served on the bench.
The judge said there was a need to find a place to send young people when the situation arose.
The Limerick boy appeared in court for speeding from Limerick through north Tipperary to Toomevara at 90 m.p.h. in a car last Thursday night. He was pursued by five Garda cars, one of which was damaged.
Acting for the Director of Public Prosecutions, Supt Jim Fitzgerald said the boy "seems out of control". He told Judge Fitzpatrick there was no place to send the boy because facilities to house offenders of his age were full.
"We are at a loss to know what we can do," said Supt Fitzgerald.
Mr Tony O'Malley, the solicitor acting for the boy and his mother, said the boy was under the care of a psychiatrist and suffered from attention deficit disorder \. His mother, Mr O'Malley said, was attending a course to deal with her son's ADD.
Judge Fitzpatrick said his only option was to remand him on bail. He was remanded on his own bail of €3 with an independent surety of €90 to the next sitting of Nenagh District Court.