‘Vermin’ mother left 10-year-old in charge

A schoolgirl yesterday called her mother “vermin” after a court heard details of the neglect of her seven children over a nine-year period.

The girl — now 17 — told Ennis Circuit Court that, at the age of 10, she was left to care for her new, prematurely born sister.

Wearing her school uniform in court, she said: “I was 10 years old. How I was supposed to know how to look after her? She was being neglected by her biological mother and left in my care.