The District Court has extended an interim care order for a 13-year-old child who remained missing from care as professionals warned of an urgent risk to his safety.
Judge Conor Fottrell delivered the anonymised decision in Dublin on 26 February 2026. It was the fourth time in two weeks that the case had returned to court while the child remained missing from a Special Emergency Arrangement, or SEA.
The Child and Family Agency was seeking a further extension of an interim care order originally granted on 17 November 2025. A week earlier, the court had also directed the Agency to provide a suitable and appropriate registered placement after an application by the child's Guardian ad Litem.
Updated evidence showed that, apart from a brief return to the SEA, the child had been missing for 10 days. The allocated social worker expressed the view that there was an immediate risk to his life and that he posed a risk to himself and others. The court was also told that he had reportedly been assaulted during the previous week.
The Guardian ad Litem remained in phone contact with the child. He said he did not want to return to the SEA and wanted instead to live with his grandfather and reconnect with his father.
All professionals involved agreed that the SEA had been unsuitable for him. The Guardian ad Litem warned that the child's situation was deteriorating while an appropriate placement remained unavailable and said he urgently needed a registered residential setting providing structure, supervision and therapeutic support.
The Agency told the court that a residential placement had now been identified, subject to final approvals, and that a referral to special care was due to be considered the following week.
Judge Fottrell said the immediate priority was for the child to be found safe and returned to care. The interim care order was extended for one further week.