'Hyde and Seek' Creches At Centre Of RTÉ Investigation To Close

The 'Hyde and Seek' creches at the centre of the RTÉ Investigates documentary, Behind Close Doors, are to be deregistered and closed with 21 days.

Tusla's Early Years Inspectorate has notified the registered providers of the 'Hyde and Seek' crèches in central Dublin that their four services will be removed from the Register of Early Years Services. While the providers have a right of appeal to the District Court, the services will be required to close and public funding will cease on the removal date.

Commenting on Tusla's announcements, Minister Zappone said: "The safety and protection of children remains my first priority. This is done through the enforcement of regulations which have children at the heart of their implementation. The de-registrations are evidence of Tusla's robust approach in taking action where it finds evidence of non-compliance with Regulations. I also welcome Tusla's decision to publish information on these actions on its website, to give parents more information."

In addition to the de-registrations, Tusla is in the process of prosecuting the Hyde and Seek companies and their registered providers.

Minister Zappone stressed: "I have great sympathy for the parents who have their children in the crèches and who will need to find alternative childcare options. In addition to the distress already caused to parents by the poor standards evidenced, the prospect of losing their crèche is clearly a major worry for these parents. Officials in my Department have been liaising with Dublin City Childcare Committee and Fingal County Childcare Committee, to offer supports to parents who will be affected by the closures."

Tusla also announced today that it has published information on these deregistration processes on its website, and that it will similarly seek to inform parents about its actions in any future cases.

Both Dublin City Childcare Committee and Fingal County Childcare Committee are planning to extend their opening hours over the coming days and weeks to support affected parents. The City/County Childcare Committees have local knowledge on availability of places. They can also offer advice to parents on choosing a quality service.

Dublin City Childcare Committee can be contacted at (01) 873 3696 or info@dccc.ie

Fingal County Childcare Committee can be contacted at (01) 485 1727 or info@fingalcountychildcare.ie

Contact details and links to websites of all local City/County Childcare Committee can be found on www.myccc.ie. In addition, advice on finding local childminders is available from Childminding Ireland at (01) 287 8466 or support@childminding.ie and through www.childminding.ie.

Following the RTÉ broadcast, Minister Zappone wrote to the Chairperson of Tusla to ask what further powers Tusla might need. Following Tusla's reply, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs is now examining legislative options, which may include mechanisms to inform parents of inspection findings and enforcement actions at an earlier stage, to require services to display prominently their inspection status, and to alert parents in relation to the operation of unregistered services.

(MH/JG)