The Health Service Executive (HSE) is to reverse its policy of sending “highly troubled” children abroad to behaviour modification camps such as Boys Town in Nebraska. It is to develop a new range of foster care facilities in Ireland instead.

The decision follows criticism of the practice from rights groups who said that it was unfair to uproot children from Ireland.

The Labour party said it was “scandalous” that children were being “imprisoned”.

The HSE deals with 5,300 children in care each year. About 20 of these are deemed to require specialist treatment which is only available abroad.

Over the last five years the HSE has sent children to live in Boys Town as well as specialist centres in Britain and Hassela Gotland in Sweden.

Those sent to these centres are deemed to have “particularly difficult and challenging behaviour”. The HSE must have the consent of the children’s parents or the courts before sending them abroad.

There are currently three Irish children in the Boys Town camp while no children were sent to Hassela in Sweden this year as the programme was wound down.

The annual cost of keeping a teen in Boys Town is €38,000.

The HSE said it is not planning to send any more to the camps once their current placements are completed.

“We will absolutely ensure that children only go abroad where there is no possibility of the service being provided in Ireland,” said Aidan Waterstone, HSE national specialist for child and family services.

It is likely that some placements in Northern Ireland and Britain for specialist services will continue.

The HSE said its national policy review of foreign placements took account of the UN convention on the rights of the child, Irish legislation and budgetary considerations. The revised policy, which emphasises keeping open contact between children and their families, is due to be signed off this autumn.

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