No special care bed for boy who vomited up 37 bags of crack cocaine he hid from gardaí

No special care bed is available for a boy who vomited up almost 40 bags of crack cocaine he was concealing from gardaí, is using fentanyl and is “at serious risk of death” due to drug use or drug debts, the High Court has heard.

There were also no beds available in the most secure form of care for two teenage girls, one of them 14, who are being sexually abused by multiple men.

The older girl (17) was recently found “unresponsive on a roadside” and “had little memory of events” when brought to hospital, where she complained of pain in her pelvic area, said Paul Gunning, barrister for Tusla.

“She is at risk of serious gravity, including death by misadventure,” he said.

The younger girl, whom the High Court ordered be detained in special care last month, continues to enter pubs “seeking men to provide her with substances”, Judge John Jordan heard.

[ No special care place available for girl (14) being sexually exploited by group of menOpens in new window ]

The three children were in “grim” and “horrific” situations and experiencing “ongoing damage” because Tusla was not complying with orders it had sought, said the judge.

Sarah McKechnie, barrister for Tusla, said the boy who vomited up 37 wraps of crack cocaine, which he had swallowed to hide from gardaí, became “very upset” when told they would be handed over to the police.

“He was crying. He was saying he would have to pay for the drugs,” McKechnie said.

He left the unit as soon as gardaí arrived and has been missing since, she said.

“I fully accept he should be in special care,” she said.

The judge said the boy was using fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, and “this is the first time I think that drug has been mentioned” in reference to the no-beds list.

“This child would not be a fentanyl user if [Tusla] had complied with the court order [that he be in special care],” he said.

Jordan said Tusla was spending “all this time, money and energy ... telling me how badly they are doing by this child and yet they are doing nothing, or achieving nothing, in terms of opening up ... beds”.

Children aged 11 to 17 may be detained by court order in special care in situations where their circumstances and behaviours are such that they pose a threat to their own lives or to those around them. However, just 13 of the 26 beds in the three special care units are open due to staff shortages.

The court heard the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) is prohibiting Tusla from admitting any further children – even where current resident children are discharged – to the largest unit, Crannog Nua in north Dublin, due to ongoing safety concerns around staffing.

The judge lifted the in-camera rule – which operates to protect privacy and identity – in the three children’s cases to enable proceedings be taken against Tusla for alleged contempt.

The “obvious” solution to the beds crisis was improved pay and conditions for special care workers, said Jordan, adding that he was “sick and tired” of raising it.

[ Tusla plans to reduce the number of children it takes into special careOpens in new window ]

Both Tusla and Government, he said, must “grasp the nettle” and fund better pay in the sector.

“I am tired giving out about it but I am not going to stop because the children here need a voice. The truth is that the inaction, lethargy and posturing of these with the power and authority to sort the situation out must be called out.”

A young teenage boy, recently discharged from special care, needed to return, the court heard, as his social workers believe it is the “only alternative”. Tusla opposes his return.

The boy was earlier before Dublin District Children’s Court, where Judge Brendan Toale heard his charges in relation to three instances of allegedly travelling in stolen cars.

The case could not progress due to the ongoing solicitors’ dispute and was put back to the end of the month.