The staff recruitment policy operated in the 1970s at Madonna House was "cursory" to say the least, the High Court has been told.
Dr Deirdre McIntyre, a clinical psychologist, said she reached that conclusion after hearing evidence of people who worked at the centre at Blackrock, Co Dublin in the 1970s. Most care workers were hired after an interview of 10 minutes or so and in one case a person was hired over the telephone, she said.
It would have been normal practice to have an interview panel consisting of people with expertise in running children's homes, she said. The management structure at Madonna House was quite hierarchical, with care workers expected to solve problems themselves. There were no staff meetings and daily records of events requiring discussion were not kept.
Mr Robert Gilligan, who worked for the Eastern Health Board from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s, said there had been no great awareness about sexual abuse of children until the 1980s. He had received no training for dealing with sexual abuse while studying for his degree at Trinity College, Dublin.
Mr Gilligan was giving evidence at the hearing of an action taken by a Dublin man, now in his late 20s, who was abused by a cleric who was a house father at Madonna House for a short time in 1980. The man is suing the EHB and Madonna House, a nominee of the Religious Sisters of Charity.
In court yesterday, Mr Gilligan said that when he worked for the EHB, there had been some discussion among his colleagues about physical, but not sexual, abuse of children.
Recalling visits to Madonna House in the 1970s-80s, he said the standard of physical care of the children was good at a superficial level. But he thought the quality of care given to children with emotional problems was relatively unsophisticated.
In cross-examination, Mr Gilligan accepted that Madonna House had been described as being "approved" by the Minister of Health. It would be interesting to know what that "approval" meant, he said. It seemed to involve approval of units where children could be placed.
Mr Gilligan said he had never seen any document which outlined the criteria or the process required for approval.
Madonna House had been run by the Sisters of Charity with funds from the EHB.
Mr Michael Gerard Cleere, a former cleric, said he was told in 1978 there was a vacancy for a house father at Madonna House.
Mr Cleere said he had just turned 18 and was interested in pursuing a career in childcare. In order to qualify to do a diploma course in Kilkenny he had to have two years' experience in child care.
He spent eight months in Mount Carmel, Moate, Co Westmeath, where he dealt with children from infancy to 18. In October 1978 he went to Madonna House and thought he stayed eight months before leaving in June 1979.
After receiving a phone call from Sister Carmel saying there was work in Madonna House if he wanted it, he had worked there in the summer of 1980. He was attached to no particular house at the time and was the only house father for most of the time.
The first time he worked at Madonna House he remembered living in a flat in one of the chalets but did not recall living in a flat in Prague House (one of the chalets at Madonna House). In 1980 he may have been in a flat in Prague House but was not certain.
The hearing resumes tomorrow.