Government pledge to cut funding to creches in breach of childcare standards

The Government undertook last night to cut State funding to creches or preschools in serious breach of childcare standards.

The move follows concern over the welfare of children at three creches that featured in RTÉ's Prime Time programme, which highlighted the apparent mistreatment of children.

The companies that run the creches have received several million euro in recent years in State funding for the provision of the free preschool year and in capital development grants.

Breaches
A spokeswoman for Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald said the Health Service Executive was required to advise the department of any serious breaches of compliance, such as cases where a service is being prosecuted.

"Receipt of such notification would be followed by termination of the department's contract with the service. In such cases, payments to the grantee are suspended until the position has been resolved," the spokeswoman said, in a statement to The Irish Times.

However, there is no record to date that any childcare provider has had State funding cut, either for the free preschool year since it was established, or for capital grant allocations over the past decade.

Gardaí, meanwhile, have begun an inquiry to establish if the Prime Time footage captures any criminal activity.

All of the footage recorded covertly has been taken by the Garda for examination, with sources saying it will be studied as part of a “scoping” exercise with a view to starting a full criminal investigation.

A number of families of the children involved viewed the footage in the week before it was aired on Tuesday night. They have been in contact with the Garda and have given statements.

Some of the creches at the centre of the controversy yesterday confirmed that some parents had withdrawn their children from the childcare facilities.

There was a mixed reaction from parents who collected their children from the facilities yesterday, with some praising the level of care while others expressed shock at the footage.

The centres involved are Little Harvard in Rathnew in Co Wicklow, Giraffe in Belarmine, Stepaside, and Links in Malahide, Dublin.

The creches have either suspended some staff members or have begun internal investigations.

HSE investigations into the incidents at all three centres are under way.

Early Childhood Ireland, the main representative group for creches and preschool services, said there were no excuses to justify the poor practice at the creches.

“Our thoughts go out to the children and parents directly affected but also to the thousands of childcare professionals across the country who deliver great experiences for children every day who are feeling vulnerable following this programme,” it said.

'Shocking exposé'
Taoiseach Enda Kenny described the documentary as a "shocking exposé".

He said childcare was a profession and whether a facility is for profit or not, the highest standards must apply across the board.