A place in an English institution for a 12-year-old mildly mentally handicapped Irish child, who is from a disturbed background and suffers violent sexual fantasies, is at risk because of bureaucratic delays, it was disclosed in the High Court yesterday.
The child, who has been in care since he was nine, may have to be placed in a psychiatric unit in Ireland if Birmingham Social Services does not make the required application to transfer him to an appropriate institution in its area, the court was told.
The social services board has so far failed to do so although the matter has been before it for some time. The Southern Health Board has no "Plan B" if the English placement does not materialise.
The boy is currently in a remand centre here, although all the professionals in the case agree it is an inappropriate place for him. His condition is said to have deteriorated recently.
The High Court has been told that sexual abuse in the past is a possibility in light of the child's mental functioning and his history of violence.
Mr Justice Peter Kelly said psychiatric reports on the child were among the "most profoundly disturbing" he had ever read.
There is no appropriate place in this State for the boy, and since early this year the Southern Health Board has been trying to arrange his transfer to an institution in Birmingham which is regarded as an appropriate facility.
The Birmingham institution has agreed to take the child, but he cannot be transferred until there is a formal consent from the Secretary of State for Home Affairs in England, Mr Jack Straw.
In court yesterday Mr Aongus O Brolchain SC, for the health board, said the junior Minister for Home Affairs had written to Mr Straw in an attempt to resolve the matter and to see if steps could be taken to expedite it.
He said the health board had no recognised rights in Britain to apply for the transfer; it required the Birmingham Social Services to make the application on its behalf. It had been indicated that Mr Straw would encourage the social services to do so and the SHB was also applying pressure.
Mr Justice Kelly said his concern was the uncertainty hanging over the child while bureaucracy trundled on.
Mr O Brolchain asked for an adjournment for a week in the hope the transfer would be initiated.
Mr Justice Kelly adjourned the case for one more week.
