A spokesperson for Letterkenny Community Childcare has said she found last nights Prime Time Investigates programme, which showed children being manhandled, as deeply upsetting.
The programme “A Breach of Trust” focused on three creches in Dublin and Wicklow, showing footage of children being flung onto mattresses, manhandled, shouted and cursed at and strapped into chairs for hours at time.
The programme also obtained a HSE inspection report which showed that 75 percent of Irish childcare facilities were in breach of regulations last year. Almost half of creches breached regulations on adult/child ratios and staff background checks, while over 40 percent failed to provide a safe environment for children.
The HSE report expressed grave concern at what it described as a “culture of light touch regulation” and a “dangerous over-emphasis on the business interests of childcare providers at the expense of the care of children.”
Geraldine Burke from Letterkenny Community Childcare, said it was upsetting for people in the childcare sector, because so many people work hard to see the best outcomes for children:
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