State to raise infant until 18 after cocaine found in system at birth

An Irish court has ordered a baby boy to remain in foster care until adulthood after he was born with cocaine in his body and showed signs of drug withdrawal.

State to raise infant until 18 after cocaine found in system at birth

An Irish court has ordered a baby boy to remain in foster care until adulthood after he was born with cocaine in his body and showed signs of drug withdrawal.

The child, delivered in January, exhibited trembling, sneezing and an unusually shrill cry after delivery. Lab tests detected cocaine, The Journal reports.

At the Children's Court in the capital, Judge Conor Fottrell was told the expectant mother had screened positive for three substances — heroin, cocaine and cannabis — in the final months before giving birth. Tusla obtained an urgent custody order on 15 January. Since then, neither the mother nor father has visited the infant.

Shortly after delivery, the mother told child welfare officials she was not in a position to raise the child because she first needed to confront her dependence on narcotics. She proposed the father assume custody. However, red flags were raised about his relatives and police background checks. It also emerged that he had been behind bars for part of 2025 while the woman was pregnant.

After birth, the infant spent several days in intensive care for newborns. Court records show both adults were missing from the hospital ward for lengthy stretches, and staff eventually discharged the mother formally because she could not be located on the premises.

The judge pointed out that social workers have been involved with the mother since 2022. Her two older children are already under agency supervision.

Neither parent showed up for the hearing on the long-term custody application.

In a lengthy written decision, Fottrell called the situation profoundly sad. He ruled that returning the child to his biological parents would probably lead to preventable harm or neglect. The court recognised the mother's extreme fragility and acknowledged that overcoming her long-standing substance problem would require considerable time and support.

The youngster is now five months old, thriving physically and attached to foster parents who have committed to raising him over the long term. Whether his prenatal drug exposure will cause problems later in life is still unknown.

The judge stressed that to date, neither adult has shown any capacity to create a secure, settled, substance-free environment. No progress has been made regarding their addictions, lack of housing or willingness to work with support services.

Source: TheJournal.ie