Supervision orders for five children were renewed in a provincial city with the consent of the parents. The judge summarised the case, saying there were five children ranging in age from 16 to nine, with two different fathers. The GP had concerns about the children and an allegation of violent behaviour had set the social service machinery in motion, the judge said.
The mother and the father of the older children were in court. The two older boys spent much of their time with their father, while the girls in the family lived with the mother. The mother’s solicitor said she was consenting to the Supervision Order because she was having a lot of problems with the older boy.
The HSE was seeking directions from the court. The judge said he was reluctant to give these directions as there were so many provisions in the welfare plan, including the father taking the children to and from school.
The father said: “I have no problem taking the children to school.”
“The 16-year-old – will he accept being brought to school by his dad?” enquired the judge. He made an order that the father made sure the boys went to school and the girls, who were younger, should be taken to and from school by the mother. The boys were to have appropriate contact with their mother.
The solicitor for the mother said that the girls were doing very well with her. The older boy was with his father and needed to address his alcohol abuse.
The social worker said the boy had ended up in hospital very drunk and he had been hit. The father said he was trying to get him involved in more activities and away from drinking. The social worker said social services were trying to get the boy into a treatment centre.
The judge said he would expect an update in three months’ time, with a focus on the boy’s alcohol addiction.
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