A very disturbed teenage girl who spent 12 weeks in Mountjoy Women's Prison in the absence of any suitable place for her has now been placed in an adult psychiatric hospital having been described as "psychotic", the High Court heard yesterday.
Lawyers for the 16-year-old girl went to the High Court last July with a view to having the Northern Area Health Board apply for an emergency care order in relation to her. Just days previously, she had been seen in areas of Dublin looking thin and dirty, with clothes covered in blood and urine. She was described as "extremely high risk" with a history of drug misuse and suspected involvement in prostitution.
The girl had been in the voluntary care of the board for periods since July 2001. On July 17th last gardaí, concerned for her welfare, detained her in Kevin Street Garda station under the Child Care Act. On July 19th, lawyers asked the High Court to direct that the NAHB seek an emergency care order for her.
Counsel for the board told that hearing that social workers had been working around the clock trying to find a solution to the girl's plight but there was no appropriate place for her.
Counsel said the board could make no application to the court, as it had no place for the girl.
On August 1st, in the absence of any alternative, Mr Justice Kearns directed that the girl be detained in Mountjoy Women's Prison where she remained until last week when she was removed to a psychiatric hospital.
Yesterday, the President of the High Court, Mr Justice Finnegan, was told a High Court order was no longer required. He adjourned the case for mention tomorrow.
