A new body to advise Ministers on residential care for children who are in trouble with the law or have behavioural problems will be announced today.
Health board and education officials will be told to seek staff abroad, if necessary, to fill places in new residential units.
The new advisory body on residential care will be appointed within two to three weeks, The Irish Times understands.
A decision to establish the advisory body is believed to have been made by the recently-appointed Minister of State for Children, Ms Mary Hanafin.
The body will include representatives of detention schools for children, health boards and the Probation and Welfare Service.
It will also include childcare and education experts and will concern itself with how to provide for children who break the law or who are "out of control".
Over many years a steady stream of such children have been coming before the courts.
The courts, in turn, have complained vociferously about the shortage of suitable places for these children. Only last month, Mr Justice Kelly said that he had sent children with no convictions to prison because there was nowhere suitable available. He also criticised the Department of Health for "culpable time-wasting" in meeting its obligations to provide high-support places.
Currently, 140 additional places are in the pipeline. Of these, 110 are for children who have not committed offences but whose behaviour is particularly difficult.
Ms Hanafin is believed to have instructed her officials to tell health boards to start recruiting staff for these centres. If, as is expected, they cannot find sufficient staff in Ireland, they will seek staff abroad.
The new body will advise Ministers on exactly how these services should operate. This will include what support and educational services should be available and how the centres should be staffed.
When the Children Bill is implemented the advisory body will be succeeded by the Special Residential Services Board, which will have statutory powers. However, the Bill is still only on its way through the Oireachtas and several other pieces of legislation are in front of it in the queue.
e-mail: pomorain@irish-times.ie