The High Court has been informed that a desirable placement is yet to be established for a distressed teenager who hasn’t eaten in 29 days. The girl is currently in an unsatisfactory situation, accommodated in an acute hospital unit, according to Donal Ó Muircheartaigh, the court-appointed guardian and barrister.
While the Health Service Executive is considering making the girl a ward of the court, attorney Katherine Kelleher, representing the HSE, noted that this action hasn’t been taken as circumstances are in flux, with efforts ongoing to secure a suitable placement and a different solution.
The issue was raised to the High Court eight times in the previous month, with the latest mentioning taking place before Mr Justice Alexander Owens on Thursday. Notable progress includes an agreement by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, to put the girl in the state’s voluntary care.
It has come to light that there’s a disagreement between the girl and her parents regarding her living situation. Various meetings have been held to discuss her situation, with another inter-agency meeting expected on the following Friday. Mr Ó Muircheartaigh states that the girl has been abstaining from food for 29 days and has self-harm tendencies. He plans to seek instructions next week for an “interim, highly supportive placement” to transfer her from the acute medical environment until a more permanent solution is found.
The HSE is expected to decide on this, following counsel’s question of destination. The girl requires significant attachment support and an assessment would help establish her functionality and the level of support she needs, he further added. Barrister Ciarán Craven, representing Tusla alongside Aoife Mulligan, stated concerted efforts are being taken to progress the matter.
Judge cited lack of progress, not absence of goodwill, as the problem. David Leahy, the girl’s mother’s barrister, expressed the mother’s desire for her daughter to be in voluntary state care and stated Tusla has moved from refusal to acceptance. Jessica Kelleher, representing the girl’s father, also agreed to her being in voluntary care. The matter is scheduled for a hearing on Tuesday, by which time, the judge hopes, a solution will be found.