A compensation claims in relation to Giraffe creche abuse has resulted in a €35,000 for seven-year-old Emily Martin.
Emily, who was filmed in an RTE Prime Time documentary on creche abuse, was seen tied to a chair to prevent her from trying to walk and left on her own to cry while she was having difficulty getting to sleep at nap time when she was just 21 months old.
I 2013 an undercover RTE journalist, presiding Judge Simons was informed, gained employment at the Giraffe Creche in Stepaside in order to conduct the expose. The reported remained in She employment at the creche as a childcare worker for a period of six weeks. This allowed her to secretly film the daily practices at the establishment and her report, following final editing, was broadcast on May 28, 2013. It showed many of the children in attendance at the creche being badly treated.
Through her father Jonathan, Emily took the claimed for Giraffe creche abuse against the management of Giraffe Childcare and the Health Service Executive (HSE).
Emily had been attending the creche located at Belarmine Copse, Enniskerry Road, Stepaside, Dublin from the time that she was eight months old. She was moved in to the ‘wobbler room’ shortly after her first birthday. Emily’s parents informed presiding Judge Simon, after she had moved to the wobbler room, she had started having trouble falling to sleep and would constantly become annoyed and shouted at them. This behaviour, however, stopped when she was removed from the creche in the aftermath of the documentary being aired. Her parents advised the Judge that they opted to send their child to Giraffe creche after reading the brochure which said that the care given was of a ‘premium nature’.
The Nolan’s had become extremely distressed after they saw, for themselves, the RTE Primetime documentary footage. Their child was shown tied to a chair to stop her from trying to walk arodnu the room. She was also filmed grasping her toy horse at at time when she was suffering difficulty getting to sleep during nap time. The child was warned to ‘go asleep’ repeatedly and a creche worker threatened to remove the toy horse away from her when she did not. The RTE reporter attempt to settle Emily as she was crying but was directed to ‘leave her cry’.
Emily parent’s immediately took her away from the creche once they had viewed the RTE Primetime footage.
In their creche compensation action, the Nolan family claimed that Giraffe creche did not have adequate measures in place to ensure Emily’s safety, had illegally restrained children in chairs and had attempted to make them go to sleep using inappropriate measures. It wa also claimed that creche management did not ensure that staff were trained and monitored in and proper fashion.
A separate creche abuse compensation claim was taken by the Nolan family against he Health Service Executive. It alleged that the HSE had not seen to ti that the childcare centre adheredwith all childcare regulations.
A Giraffe creche abuse compensation settlement was agreed between all parties involved. Judge Simons said he was satisfied with this and gave his approval. The creche compensation settlement included the defendant meeting the costs of the legal action.