An 18-year-old convicted rapist was for the past six weeks placed in an emergency HSE care unit designed to accommodate girls and boys aged 15-18 years of age.
A security source who expressed concerns for the girls’ safety said they were vulnerable.
The teenager in question is believed to have been living at the Limerick centre until last Tuesday.
“He was there, yes,” a HSE source confirmed yesterday evening. “He was moved there from another similar HSE-run facility in Limerick.”
The security source added: “This order came from the very top of the HSE management chain. Everyone was aware of the background, so I don’t know why it happened.”
In an official statement yesterday, the HSE said: “It is not our practice to disclose or divulge details in relation to our dealings with any individual, including vulnerable children in care and young adults in aftercare.”
The HSE said identifying the location of the care unit where the boy was living would place “the vulnerable young adults at risk”. The HSE requested that the unit not be identified, “in the interests of the young adults”.
It added: “The HSE wishes to reiterate that it has and does take all proper steps in conducting appropriate risk assessments in all of its decision-making pertaining to the operation of children’s residential centres.”
A spokeswoman at the care centre said yesterday it had “no comment to make”.