‘Most vulnerable’ teen who breached bail 22 times sent to detention

A TEENAGER DESCRIBED as “one of the most vulnerable children” in the country has been remanded in custody after absconding and breaking bail 22 times in two months.

The 17-year-old boy, who is in care and cannot be named because he is a juvenile, appeared at the Dublin Children’s Court on Wednesday when he pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine and a blade.

Judge Shalom Binchy counted the breaches of his bail conditions imposed on 30 June last.

The court heard the youth was arrested in Dublin city centre on 30 June after gardaí, aware he was missing from care, approached him.

During a subsequent search, officers discovered that the teenager had the blade of a pair of scissors concealed on him.

When he was brought back to a garda station, a further search uncovered €10 worth of cocaine.

The garda agreed they were minor offences but raised serious welfare concerns, saying the boy was “at risk to himself” and highlighting a persistent pattern of non-compliance.

The conditions included an order to reside at his care accommodation, a ban on entering parts of central Dublin and a strict curfew requiring him to remain indoors from 7pm to 9am.

The teenager has also picked up a burglary and a weapons charge outside Dublin, the court heard.

The court was told the boy frequently absconded from his care home, travelled into the city centre, and often turned up at garda stations there or was found in the early hours.

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Recently, he had been missing for three days before being safely returned to the facility.

Defence solicitor Eoghan O’Sullivan described the boy as being “one of the most vulnerable children in the country”, and “sheeplike” in that he was easily led by others rather than a leader or criminal mastermind.

The solicitor confirmed that the evidence regarding the bail breaches was accepted and the boy was apologetic.

The court heard the conditions were imposed when the boy had no solicitor due to ongoing industrial action in response to legal aid payment reforms. Tusla later secured representation for him.

O’Sullivan argued that it was important that a young person like the boy would understand that their liberty was in jeopardy, but he had not received independent advice from a solicitor.

Pleading for bail, he submitted that the boy needed therapeutic care and not punitive detention.

He said care staff working with the boy had arranged a training course for him that could lead to work.

The solicitor asked the court to continue bail, grant a short adjournment to check adherence to conditions. He requested the judge to seek a pre-sentence probation report and include the boy in a bail supervision scheme to alleviate the garda’s concerns.

Following the submissions, the judge agreed with the defence that bail could not be denied for welfare reasons.

However, after reviewing the evidence, she noted the repeated breaches.

She refused bail on those grounds, remanding the teenager in custody at the Oberstown Children Detention Campus to appear in court again at a later date.

The teenager, who did not address the court and spoke only to consult with his solicitor, will appear again next week. A probation report was ordered.