A High Court judge yesterday said it was "very regrettable" that the best the State could do for a sick boy "who has broken no law and is not charged with a criminal offence" was to place him in a remand centre.
The boy, who suffers from a form of high-functioning autism, has now been at the centre for more than six months.
For the second week in a row, Mr Justice Kelly said he had no choice but to return the 15-year-old boy, who is suffering from Asperger's Syndrome (a life-long, unusual personality characterised by very poor social interactional capacity and obsessional preoccupations), to St Michael's Remand and Assessment Centre.
The only other options were to return the boy to his "grossly dysfunctional" family or to consign him to the streets, said the judge. St Michael's centre was the lesser evil but this was "yet another impossible situation" which confronted the court regularly.
The judge made the order after being told that there was no place available in the State where children with Asperger's Syndrome could be treated. He was also told that although there was general agreement among psychiatrists that the most suitable place for the boy was at the Eastern Health Board unit at Newtown House, Co Wicklow, that unit was full and there were 24 children ahead of the boy on the waiting list for places there.
Mr Justice Kelly said a District judge had, in the hope of forcing the issue, refused earlier this month to make an order returning the boy to St Michael's. The effect of that was St Michael's felt it had to release the boy and the matter was brought last week to the High Court.
On that occasion, he had with great reluctance made an order that the boy remain at St Michael's and had returned the matter for yesterday when he was told that, although several options had been investigated, there was no place available other than at St Michael's.
Mr Gerry Durcan SC, for the boy, said they had established that the Department of Education had been requested in April to approve a 10-bed unit for children suffering from Asperger's Syndrome but that approval was not yet forthcoming.
He said it seemed there was no other option but that the boy remain at St Michael's. However, the authorities must come up with a plan for his long-term needs.
Mr Anthony Keating, of St Michael's, said it was not an appropriate place for the boy. There was a pattern where the behaviour of such children who came to St Michael's initially improved but then disimproved, as the centre was unable to meet their long-term needs.
He agreed it was better that the boy remain at St Michael's than be sent back home or put on the streets. However, it was "extremely undesirable" that the present situation persist.
Mr Justice Kelly directed that the boy remain at St Michael's and returned the matter to November 2nd when he said he wanted to hear evidence from the State on what progress had been made on the proposed 10-bed unit for children suffering from Asperger's Synondrome.
Last week, the judge granted Mr Durcan leave to take judicial review proceedings against the Eastern Health Board, the Minister for Education, Ireland and the Attorney General. Mr Durcan is seeking orders directing the provision of suitable and secure accommodation and education for the boy on constitutional grounds.
