A female staff member at a creche in Dublin was dismissed last month after allegedly physically mistreating a number of young children under her care.
Gardaí and Tusla are investigating an alleged incident at a creche operated by Once Upon a Time in South Dublin.
CCTV footage has been handed over to An Garda Síochána. It is understood the children involved were aged between 12 and 15 months.
Parents whose children attend the creche in question expressed their shock. One mother described the situation as “horrendous” and said parents were worried about their children’s safety.
Once Upon A Time operates several nursery and Montessori schools across Dublin.
Anne Marie McCormack, the company’s codirector, told The Irish Times that the staff member in question was “fully Garda-vetted” and had verified written references.
“The matter came to light when a senior staff member, using our internal whistle-blowing process, raised concerns and requested a review of CCTV footage,” Ms McCormack said via a statement.
“While CCTV is not a regulatory requirement, we have invested in it across our services to strengthen child safeguarding. The review identified concerns which were escalated immediately to head office.”
The statement noted that management were “on site within minutes” and the staff member was fired “with immediate effect”.
“We also contacted the Garda Vetting Bureau and other relevant authorities, out of fear that this individual could walk into another childcare service or even work for a family directly.”
The company offered counselling to staff who were affected by the incident, the statement noted.
“While our policies, procedures, and training were already in place and fully compliant, we went further. Additional safeguarding measures were introduced immediately, including on-site retraining, evening workshops, specialist sessions, and strengthened staff supervision protocols.”
The company’s statement added that the “welfare of children is and always will be our absolute priority”.
Tusla, the child and family agency, said it cannot comment on individual cases to protect the privacy of children and families.
However, it said all referrals it receives are screened and assessed in line with Children First guidelines on child protection, and that if it suspects a crime has been committed, it will formally notify An Garda Síochána without delay.
“Where an incident or incidents involve a creche, Tusla’s Early Years Inspectorate may further assess and inspect the service and/or issue enforcement actions, as required,” it said.
A spokesman said the Department of Children is “aware of the case but cannot comment as it remains under active investigation by both Tusla and An Garda Síochána”.
Gardaí did not immediately respond to a request for comment.