A Moate creche-owner was banned from running such a business for the next three years and fined a total of €2,000 in the District Court this week (January 21 ) after HSE inspectors found 34 breaches of childcare and hygiene regulations on her premises.
Before the court was Alicia Kerr (27 ), of Toor Valley, Ballymore Road, Moate, who had pleaded not guilty to the allegations assembled against her after a visit by public health nurse, Ms Anne Gerety, and environmental health officer, Ms Louise Meehan, on April 4, 2008.
Acting on information received, the inspectors called to the home of Kerr where she was minding five children, ranging in age from 15 months to four years, when they discovered the catalogue of breaches.
Ms Gerety told the court that though Kerr had notified the HSE about her business in line with procedure, she: “had no written permission from parents for emergency medical help, no protocol for the administration of medicines, no evidence of Garda vetting, no written policy on behaviour management, no register available for any of the children, no book of incidents, or any record of medication given”.
Ms Gerety also gave evidence that the sleeping facilities for the children were sub-standard, with a dirty mattress in the travel cot and “no sheeting on the double bed in the other sleeping room”.
Ms Meehan told the court of the health and hygiene breaches she observed during the visit.
“There was a large pot of potatoes on the front ring of the cooker and children running around the kitchen,” she said.
“In the yard, there was a large section of fence missing. Ms Kerr said her neighbours were using it as a short-cut home from the pub at night.”
She also told the court of finding a pair of scissors in the toy box and there being no gates at either the top or bottom of the stairs.
She said there were no childproof locks on the cupboard under the sink in which there were cleaning products nor on the windows in the sleeping room.
Ms Meehan said she saw no record of fire drills and that there was a plate of mince defrosting in the fridge beside rice crispy buns.
“The premises was generally dirty, with an ashtray, a paintbrush, and pots and pans lying around,” she said.
The court heard how the defendant had a national certificate in childcare from Moate Business College, as well as first aid, management, and computer qualifications from Portobello College in Dublin and was “familiar” with the Childcare Act.
Kerr had run a similar business in Moate since 2003 and had been previously visited by the HSE “eight or 10 times” without incident.
The court heard how Kerr had voluntarily closed the facility after being informed of the breaches and had not worked since.
Her solicitor Mr Padraig Quinn told the court that childcare was his client’s “passion” and that “she was very upset at having to close”.
“The premises was never going to be spotless when the kids are there,” said Kerr in her evidence. “The place was cleaned every day and the floor mopped.”
She said the children’s registration details were not accepted by the health visitors because they were on the headed paper of her previous business and were thus deemed “old records”.
She admitted to Judge John Neilan that funding was an issue and that she “was not open long enough to invest in a proper cot”.
“With all due respect, you were running it on a shoestring,” said the judge.
She also argued the regulatory booklet she was sent by the HSE only covered the 1996 Childcare Act and not the 2006 version under which she was being prosecuted.
However, the judge pointed out that in the introduction to this booklet it clearly stated it was just a guideline and not a statutory document.
“Ignorance of the law is no excuse,” he said.
He convicted on all counts but, aware of her employment status, fined Kerr €500 on just one sample count each of the childcare and hygiene breaches.
He also ordered her to pay €500 costs on each of these two samples.
Mr Dermot Scanlon, solicitor for the HSE, sought an order prohibiting Kerr from running another pre-school facility again but the judge denied this as “unconstitutional”.
“You can’t stop a person from earning a living,” he said before banning her from such an endeavour for the next three years.
