A judge has called for an investigation into the case of a young boy described as “committing crime to get money for food” despite being known to child protection agencies for the past 12 years.
Judge Conal Gibbons said at the Dublin Children’s Court earlier the HSE had “lost the plot” after he heard the boy has been living “home alone”.
The boy, who is in his mid-teens, is charged with attempting to break into a car, theft of a bicycle and criminal damage.
Judge Gibbons had been told the boy’s parents were not available to care for him and were not living with him. He had been living alone at home. Another relative tried to look after him but they had had a row and the teenager was “committing crime to get money for food”.
He gave bail to the boy on Wednesday after hearing an older sibling, who has just reached adulthood, would look after him.
Judge Gibbons criticised some of the HSE’s terminology such as “out of hours” or “placements offered”. The boy will appear in court again next week.