A healthy teenager in State care must spend the weekend in hospital “as a last resort” after gardaí were unable to transport him to a Tusla emergency placement in Dublin due to the fuel protests, a court has heard. At the family law court a senior social care worker with Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, said the 14-year-old has been accepted as “a social admission” to the hospital where he is to remain for the weekend. The Tusla worker told the judge on Friday that Tusla arranged for the social admission to the hospital “as a last resort”. [ ‘It’s blackmailing society’: We ask Irish Times readers how fuel protests are impacting themOpens in new window ]The agency’s solicitor Kevin Sherry, told the judge the hospital has confirmed that the boy can remain at the hospital over the weekend. The senior Tusla care worker said every avenue has been explored and exhausted and escalated to senior management to get the teenager an alternative placement.

Source: The Irish Times April 11, 2026 06:15 UTC