Crime & Law

DPP to decide whether to prosecute in Áras Attracta case

Disabled residents of Swinford care centre shown on footage

A screengrab from secretly recorded footage in Swinford’s Áras Attracta residential care centre shows a worker putting a blanket over a resident’s head after the latter made noise looking for attention. File photograph: RTÉ

Tom Shiel
Wed Mar 18 2015 - 16:26

Gardaí have completed a file and forwarded it to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) following an investigation into alleged inhumane treatment of intellectually disabled people at the HSE-run Áras Attracta centre in Swinford.

The DPP will now decide whether any staff should face criminal prosecution as a result of footage secretly recorded for a Prime Time TV programme

Áras residents Ivy McGinty (53), Mary Garvan (65) and Mary Maloney (75) were shown on the footage.

Following the screening of the Prime Time programme, gardaí in Claremorris launched a full scale investigation.

READ MORE

Officers viewed some 190 hours of film recorded for the TV exposé and took detailed statements from Áras staff.

Prime Time

After the Prime Time programme was aired, The Carers Association was flooded with calls from family carers across the country who are upset and shocked by the scenes depicted.

Association spokesperson Catherine Cox described the footage as "terrifying" and said a constant worry for family carers is the care provision for their loved ones "when they [carers] are no longer around".

Ms Cox added: “The fear countrywide among our members is that Áras Attracta is not an isolated case.”

Following the Prime Time revelations, a number of qualified nurses and care assistants were taken off duty at Áras Attracta. However, they are still being paid.

LATEST STORIES