A creche owner was yesterday fined €1,200 for failing to provide adequate safeguards and supervision for a child during an outing to a public park playground.
In Dublin District Court, Judge William Hamill found Anne Davy, owner of Giggles Creche and Montessori, Tolka Road, Dublin, guilty of failing to safeguard the health, safety and welfare of three-year-old Nathan McGrane. Nathan's mother, Denise, said he had been left behind during the outing to Fairview Park on July 30th last.
He also convicted her of failing to provide adequate supervision in accordance with her insurances, and of having inadequate staff and attendance records.
A fourth charge alleging that the child had been left unattended in the park was dismissed.
Judge Hamill said he found the evidence of Davy and one of her employees, Mary Quinn, not to be credible and in conflict with that of another mother who was outside the creche when all the children, except Nathan, arrived back.
Davy had denied the charges, claiming Nathan was being watched over at all times by Ms Quinn. Davy said she had left the park briefly to return to the creche to get another child's lunchbox and had left Ms Quinn sitting near Nathan.
Ms Quinn said when Ms McGrane and the child's Montessori teacher arrived in the playground, she left without saying a word because she felt her job was done.
Davy and Ms Quinn denied they had made up a story together to cover their backs for a mistake. Davy's lawyer argued that Ms McGrane and the teacher had "jumped to the conclusion" that Nathan was on his own when in fact he was not.
The court heard last week that Ms McGrane was standing outside the creche waiting for children to return from the impromptu outing on a fine summer's day.
Two members of staff, including Nathan's teacher, Deirdre Fahy, arrived back with two groups of children, including five preschoolers.
When Ms Fahy realised Nathan was not with the other group, she "started panicking", Ms McGrane said. Both ran to the park where Nathan was on a swing.
Another mother, Rachel Jevens, who was outside the creche before Ms McGrane arrived, told the court that she did not see Davy returning to get a lunchbox as she had claimed.
Ms McGrane said when she and Ms Fahy arrived in the playground, Ms Fahy grabbed Nathan and put her arms around him, crying. She continued crying all the way back to the creche. She did not see Ms Quinn sitting on a bench in the playground watching Nathan.
In court yesterday, counsel for Davy said this was her first conviction, and the creche, which was purpose-built, was regularly inspected and many parents continued to use it. It had been inspected just two weeks before this incident.
Judge Hamill imposed fines of €600 on the charges of failing to ensure the health and safety of the child, and for inadequate supervision. The charge in relation to staff and attendance rosters was taken into account.
He also ordered Ms Davy to pay the health board €1,000 in legal costs.