A statement from Garda, the Irish police force, said, ‘Garda are carrying out an investigation into reports of the mistreatment of children at a crèche in North County Dublin and also into alleged mistreatment of children at a crèche in south county Dublin.’
Reports suggest that one of the nurseries is operated by Giraffe Childcare and Early learning Centres, one of the largest childcare providers in Ireland.
The HSE, the equivalent of Ofsted, which inspects settings that cater for children aged from birth to six in Ireland, said that it received reports yesterday from the Garda regarding three independent childcare facilities in the Dublin area.
‘HSE Children and Family Services are working with the Garda Siochana to review the reports and make an assessment with respect to any child welfare and protection concerns.
‘As this process is ongoing, it would be inappropriate to make any further comment at this time.’
Reports claim that the Garda were made aware of the alleged mistreatment of children at the settings by a TV researcher posing as a practitioner for a programme about standards in childcare for Irish news channel RTE.
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