DNA to test if girl is Roma couple’s daughter

DNA tests are to be carried out on a seven-year-old girl taken into care from a house in Tallaght to see if she is the biological child of her Roma parents.

Gardaí have also contacted Europol and Interpol to check if the girl, who has blonde hair and blue eyes, may have been abducted.

The girl is now under the legal guardianship of the HSE after a call to gardaí from a member of the public triggered an inquiry.

Pavee Point, which represents the Roma community here, said a source close to the family claimed the couple were “extremely confident” DNA tests would prove the child was theirs.

The family has been living in a house in Tallaght with their other children and told gardaí the girl was born in Ireland. However, it is understood gardaí held strong doubts as to the veracity and authenticity of the documentation provided by the couple to back up the claim and acted under the provisions of the Childcare Act 1991 to take her into care.

It prompted Martin Collins of Pavee Point to question whether there was “racial profiling” in the case and to appeal for calm amid fears of a “witch hunt” against Roma here.

The contact from the member of the public came on Monday and noted the difference in appearance between the blonde girl and her Roma family.

Officers from a Garda child protection unit then visited the house where the family, originally from Romania and legally resident here, have been living for a number of years.

It is understood officers spent several hours there as they waited for documents to be produced. A birth certificate was deemed to be inconclusive and a passport bore a picture of a baby and could not be matched to the seven-year-old.

The parents claimed the girl was born in the Coombe Hospital in Dublin in 2006, but when gardaí contacted medical staff they had no record of a child with the family name being born on the date claimed.

The gardaí also sought advice from independent medical practitioners before moving to take the child into care, going to the district court to secure an emergency care order under section 12 of the Childcare Act 1991, which typically would see the child being placed with a foster family.

It is understood the girl speaks the same language as her parents and was upset when she was taken away.

Both Europol and Interpol have been contacted with a view to establishing whether a child fitting the girl’s description has been reported missing elsewhere.

Gardaí also hope to take DNA from the child, for which they do not need the parents’ consent, and may seek DNA from the Roma couple in due course.

With renewed focus on the Madeleine McCann case and the developing situation in Greece in which another young blonde girl was removed from the care of a Roma family, the case is likely to grab headlines around the world.

But Mr Collins said: “I have met a lot of Roma on the continent over the years that were blonde haired, blue eyed and pale skinned.

“I have made inquiries with a mutual acquaintance of the family and he told me they are very confident that DNA testing will prove that this is their child.”