A judge has refused to approve a settlement of compensation for emotional trauma at the Giraffe Crèche – one of three crèches exposed for alleged mistreatment of children.
Four year old Emilie Kiely started attending the Giraffe Crèche in Stepaside in 2011 when she was eight months old. In September 2012, Emilie started exhibiting signs of stress and anxiety whenever her parents were preparing to take her to the childcare facility – a change in behaviour which coincided with Emilie being moved to the “Toddlers Room”.
In May 2013, the crèche was one of three exposed by the RTE Prime Time documentary “A Breach of Trust” for allegedly mistreating children. Emilie´s shocked parents withdrew their daughter from the crèche after seeing one of the minders responsible for Emilie´s care screaming at children in the broadcast.
Emilie´s father – John Kiely from Sandyford in Dublin – sought legal advice and made a claim for compensation for emotional trauma at the Giraffe Crèche on his daughter´s behalf – alleging that Emilie had suffered stress, emotional upset and terror due to a breach in the crèche’s duty of care.
The owners of the Childcare and Early Learning Centre denied the claims, but made an offer of €15,000 compensation for emotional trauma at the Giraffe Crèche without an admission of liability. As the offer of compensation was in settlement of a claim brought on behalf of a minor, the offer had to be approved by a judge before it could be accepted.
At the Circuit Civil Court in Dublin, Judge James O´Donohue was told that Emilie would cry “No crèche! No crèche!” when her parents were getting her ready to go to the childcare facility and was obviously scared of going. The judge ruled that the proposed settlement of compensation for emotional trauma at the Giraffe Crèche was inappropriate for the level of injury that it was alleged Emilie had suffered.
Judge O´Donohue said that it would be in Emilie´s best interests if the claim for compensation for emotional trauma at the Giraffe Crèche went to a full hearing before another judge – a decision that will affect up to twenty-five other claims for compensation that have been made on behalf of children that attended the childcare facility between 2011 and 2013.