A 17-year-old boy who has been in the care of the HSE since he was three years old, has been remanded in custody for a further three weeks.
The boy appeared at Cloverhill District Court on Tuesday, having been denied bail by Judge Conall Gibbons who last week convicted him at Mullingar District Court on two counts of theft.
He had pleaded guilty to stealing briquettes and later coal from a shop in Mullingar on January 18 and January 20. He was not alone when the offences were committed.
Ms Patricia Cronin said her client was consenting to the three week remand at St Patrick’s Institution and he will appear at Court 55 on May 5, one week before he is due to return to the Circuit Court.
Judge John Coughlan questioned why the boy had been remanded to Cloverhill. He was the only juvenile on the court list. No one from his foster family or from the HSE was present in the court.
Courts 55 and 56 at Smithfield in Dublin operate five days a week and deal only with juvenile cases.
A three year suspended sentence is hanging over the youth, following a previous Circuit Court conviction.
Last week Judge Gibbons felt obliged to return the boy to Mullingar Circuit Court which is sitting in Tullamore on May 12 where Judge Anthony Kennedy will make a decision about whether the three year sentence should be activated because the theft convictions indicate a breach of the suspension.
Sentencing on the theft charges will take place at a later date.
