Siblings awarded €36,000 over alleged mistreatment at Hyde & Seek creche in Drumcondra

A brother and sister who alleged they were mistreated at a creche, which became the subject of RTÉ’s Behind Closed Doors exposé, have been awarded €36,000 in damages.

Barrister Conor E Byrne told Judge Paula Murphy in the Circuit Civil Court on Thursday that one of the children was secretly recorded being scolded by staff at the Hyde & Seek creche on Tolka Road, Drumcondra, Dublin 3.

Byrne, who appeared with Michelle Loughnane of Mullany Walsh Maxwells Solicitors for the children, said Nora Casey (then aged one) was identified by her mother, Carmel, being reprimanded in one of the scenes.

He told the judge the parent noticed mood changes in her daughter and in her three-year-old son, Joe, and had removed them from the creche before the documentary was broadcast.

She subsequently watched the RTÉ Investigates programme in 2019, which focused on alleged mishandling of children in the creche. She identified her daughter being scolded and reprimanded by creche staff.

Murphy also heard that Joe suffered an injury to his lip while attending the creche.

Byrne said the children, through their mother, sued the creche for negligence and the defendant, Hyde & Seek Childcare Limited, made settlement offers of €21,000 and €15,000 to Joe and Nora, who are now aged 11 and nine respectively, which he was recommending to the court.

The judge said the Casey family, who live in Glasnevin, Dublin, had unsettling experiences and she hoped the children would in time be able to erase such matters from their minds.

She agreed with Byrne that there were some issues on liability in the case and the court was happy to approve the settlements and legal costs in favour of the Caseys.