A court has heard how a teenager in care alleged her mother tried to sell her to a man in Germany.
A Tusla worker reported the claim at the Family Law Court in Ennis as Judge Sandra Murphy extended an interim care order for the 17-year-old.
The health professional said: “The teenager is happy in her emergency placement and she is very clearly saying that she doesn’t want to return to her mother.
“She is afraid to go home because of repercussions of what could happen.”
The care worker stated the girl “previously told us her mother tried to sell her to a man so we are not clear if this is a different man or the same man”.
As part of the Tusla application regarding the teen, they stated: “We have talked to the mother and she is denying these things, and she is denying that she would sell her daughter to any man.”
The care worker told the judge: “I don’t know if we will ever know the truth about all of this but we can only listen to what the child tells us and she is a 17-year-old.”
They explained how the teenager is doing “very, very well in the residential unit – she is not causing any trouble”.
She added: “We are looking for something long term and this is still ongoing but unfortunately because of the cyber attack some of the applications are stuck in the system.”
Tusla’s solicitor said the mother was objecting to the application but is self-isolating due to a Covid-19 contact and cannot attend court.
Judge Murphy extended the interim care order to next month.
