A district court judge in a provincial city granted the Child and Family Agency (CFA) a 28-day Interim care order for the teenage boy who came originally from an Islamic country in southern Asia.
The boy, who had arrived in Ireland about a month earlier, had left his home country at the start of the year as a result of violence directed towards his family.
The social work team leader said that the boy had had a domicile certificate from his home country that showed his identity and age. She said that it was unusual for an immigrant to have travelled with such documents. The CFA had not been able to verify the documents but the International Protection Office would be able to verify the documents if the court directed it to do so. However, she said that she was satisfied as to the boy’s age.
The team leader said that there were some concerns regarding the boy’s mental health when he had arrived. He had advised them that he had ADHD and had previously attempted to take his life but his father had stopped him from doing so.
Some of the boy’s concerning behaviours were recent. In one incident, he had had to be admitted to hospital as he had been running in front of cars and having auditory hallucinations. The CFA had agreed that he should have an assessment by the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS). However, this had not happened yet as CAMHS had not accepted that the boy could validly consent to attending CAMHS. As a result, the CFA was also seeking the court’s direction allowing the CFA to consent to his attendance at CAMHS. The boy was currently living in a residential care unit.
The judge granted the interim Care Order in respect of the teenager and made a direction to allow the CFA to consent to him attending CAMHS. He also appointed a guardian ad litem to the teenager.
The matter was listed to return to court on four weeks later.