Tusla pays legal fees for vulnerable boy unable to access solicitor during strike

Tusla privately paid for a criminal defence solicitor to represent a vulnerable boy in Dublin District Children’s Court because he could not access legal aid due to the ongoing solicitors’ strike. The boy, described as one of the most vulnerable children in the country, faced potential detention at Oberstown. The boy had been released on continuing bail at a previous court sitting but repeatedly breached conditions, including going missing from care 22 times and being found with a scissors blade and cocaine. Solicitor Eoghan O’Sullivan said Tusla covered fees given the boy’s wellbeing concerns and lack of available expertise in juvenile justice. The boy’s social workers arranged a Safe Pass course for him, and O’Sullivan argued he needed therapeutic help rather than punitive detention. A garda said the boy was a risk to himself, and the judge remanded him until September 9th with one bed available in Oberstown.