Gardaí to probe evidence of physical abuse

Gardaí have begun a criminal investigation into the alleged physical abuse of children which featured in Tuesday’s Prime Time documentary on creches.

Local gardaí and officers from the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation are to carry out the investigation following the footage recorded for RTÉ’s A Breach of Trust in Little Harvard in Rathnew, Co Wicklow; Giraffe in Belarmine, Stepaside and Links in Malahide, Dublin. Complaints have been made to gardaí from parents at the facilities.

There was cross-party condemnation of what the programme had uncovered in the Dáil yesterday.

Children’s Minister Frances Fitzgerald admitted that even an improved investigations system could not be guaranteed to uncover the kind of “emotional abuse” exposed in creches by RTÉ.

Mr Fitzgerald warned that some of the rules regarding child care are lax to an “unbelievable” degree and need to be bolstered, as she told the Dáil gardaí were now probing revelations in the Prime Time documentary.

Ms Fitzgerald said a beefed-up inspection regime would be a major leap forward, but could still fail to spot abuse.

“If you have an investigation system that engages in a positive way with providers, that works with them to improve standards, that is engaged with them over time, there is obviously a higher chance that the kind of scenes we saw (on RTÉ) would have been avoided, or would have been uncovered through an inspection system — but it is not guaranteed.

“We need stronger and more robust inspections, there is no question of that. And we do need stronger sanctions,” Ms Fitzgerald told TDs during a special Dáil debate on child protection.

Referring to the undercover filming shown on RTÉ, the minister said: “It was emotional abuse, no question of it. Complete ignoring of children’s developmental needs.”

Ms Fitzgerald said that looming legislation to protect children was long overdue and would need to be wide-ranging.

“It is unbelievable in this country that we have allowed people to open child care facilities by simply notifying the HSE. That cannot go on and it will stop,” she said.

The minister said that State funding could be linked to standards levels in the forthcoming shake-up.

Ms Fitzgerald also expressed concern that there was no regulation in the area of private child minders who are used by 70% of families.

Ms Fitzgerald promised that inspection reports on childcare facilities will be posted online within weeks of being completed in future. The HSE is also to launch a website that will allow parents to see what prosecutions have taken place, Ms Fitzgerald said.

The minister said that CCTV in child care centres could be looked into, but she signalled this would be considered too intrusive.

Ms Fitzgerald said it was striking that when children begin school proper at five years old their care is subject to rigorous control, and this kind of oversight needed to be extended to pre-school age children.

Meanwhile, the children’s rights watchdog demanded health chiefs explain the inspection regime for creches.

While the Government is considering withdrawing State funding from underperforming centres, ombudsman Emily Logan said it was clear that some staff should not be working with children.

Ms Logan has demanded HSE bosses account for their inspections.

“There are very serious issues about the people working, the suitability of the people working with those children,” Ms Logan said. “My observation, as somebody who is familiar with child development and child psychology, is that the people that I saw, they don’t have any appreciation of child development or psychology issues for that age group.”

A string of children’s charities have fiercely condemned the treatment witnessed in the three creches investigated in the documentary.

The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children said it was appalled by the revelations.

The charity said the lack of care, warmth and attention shown to some children was deeply disturbing, and that it was clear the level of statutory inspections is below par.

The Association of Childhood Professionals said it was concerned at repeated instances of unacceptable practices.

It called on the Government to work with childhood professionals to ensure high-quality provision in the sector and to ensure the implementation of national standards.

Shocking litany of complaints as rules breached and promises broken

For years, the Irish Examiner has campaigned to have standards of care in creches improved.

In a series of special investigations, we were one of the first news organisations to lift the lid on the chaotic state of privately run creches across the country — at what was a booming time for the lucrative industry.

Using the Freedom of Information Act we revealed the shocking litany of complaints filed by parents and the countless breaches of regulations highlighted by inspectors.

Over a four-year period, we obtained every inspection report for every creche in the country.

Thousands of documents (and euros later) the pattern was clear — a system that was in freefall, too many children left in vulnerable, abusive and sometimes dangerous environments, a wholly inadequate inspection system, little or no regulation and a Government that paid little more than lip service to what was nothing short of a national scandal.

On Mar 20, 2006, our investigation highlighted systematic bullying and neglect in the sector:

*A child left alone in a public place after a creche outing;

*Another child was found wandering in public area after becoming separated from a playgroup;

*A staff member sacked after a child had its hands tied behind its back with sticky tape and put in the corner;

*Legal proceedings were issued and social worker contacted after a child was injured and needed hospital treatment;

*A creche closed after repeated complaints that children were being slapped;

*Two toddlers were found in the middle of a street opposite preschool. They were brought back by a passerby;

*A social worker contacted after child received a dislocated arm at creche and had to be brought to hospital;

*A staff worker was sacked after numerous complaints that children were slapped and verbally abused;

*A five-month-old baby was badly sunburned while left unattended at the creche.

In Oct 30, 2007 we published another set of inspection reports. Again the findings were equally disturbing.

*A parent in Sligo complained that her three-year-old was locked into a room for being “bold”;

*HSE inspectors counted 30 bags of household waste — and a dead rat in the play area of a city centre creche;

*A child was expelled from a creche in Meath because staff said his behaviour was too difficult to manage;

*A child had to undergo a blood test after being bitten;

*A young boy was given Calpol to make him drowsy;

*A Dublin city creche staff member was dismissed for inappropriate behaviour;

*A nine-month-old was barred from a creche because mother complained about conditions.

The HSE, the Department of Health and the Government again promised swift action — inspections would be stepped up, regulation introduced, our children made safer.

However, the following year nothing had changed. Another batch of reports, with more shocking and deplorable findings:

*A family not contacted after a girl fractured her arm;

*A child sent home after ‘minor fall’ and later found to have fractured skull;

*Two preschoolers left creche unnoticed and were picked up by a passerby on a main road;

*Children left alone when staff out for lunch;

*Children left in a ‘gated area’ alone as punishment;