A Dublin creche facing trial under child protection laws following an RTÉ exposé will show almost 40 hours of secretly filmed video evidence in its defence.
Links Creche and Montessori Ltd, at Abington Wood, Swords Road, Malahide, Co Dublin, and its director Deirdre Kelly, from Saint Olaves, Kinsealy, Co Dublin, are accused of breaching the Childcare Act and pre-school services regulations.
The prosecution has been brought by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, as a result of the 2013 TV documentary "Breach of Trust" by RTÉ's investigations unit.
The producers of the programme provided the agency with 40 hours of secretly filmed footage. Dublin District Court heard the prosecution will be depending on two hours of “condensed” footage.
However, the defence wants the court to see the remaining 38 hours “that does not show untoward activity”.
Justin McQuade BL, defending, told Judge John O’Neill he was asking for “a hearing date”, an indication the case may be contested. He said four or five days would be needed for the trial.
Joe Coonan, solicitor for the agency, told Judge O'Neill it was a matter for the defence how much footage they wanted to rely on. He said the agency had "condensed the footage" and isolated the parts related to each summons before the court.
Mr McQuade said the defence had asked the prosecution if there was anything untoward in the rest of the footage. He said there were charges against the creche and “if there are 39 hours of footage that does not show any untoward activity, it is a defence.”
Mr McQuade also said that in the absence of any concession from the agency, the defence will show about 38 hours of video evidence.
Judge O’Neill adjourned the case until next week when the trial date will be set.
The agency alleges the creche breached regulations by not preventing practices that were “disrespectful, degrading or exploitative”. On conviction, the court can impose fines of up to €1,300 as well as an order suspending a person from running a childcare facility.
Ms Kelly and the company face four charges for not having staff, students and volunteers with access to children vetted by gardaí, and it is also alleged she and the creche breached record keeping regulations from October 7th to October 14th, 2013.
Furthermore the company itself faces another 20 charges including claims that it failed to “ensure that no practices that are disrespectful, degrading, exploitative, intimidating, emotionally or physically harmful or neglectful were carried out in respect of any child”.