DNA samples set to determine issue of girl put in HSE care

A young girl removed by gardaí from a family in Dublin on Monday has spent her second night in the care of the Health Service Executive.

The agency yesterday took legal proceedings before the Family Law Court seeking to secure an emergency care order that would allow the girl to remain in its care. If the court rules that the child should be reunited with the couple from whom she was taken, they could then begin civil proceedings against the State.

It is anticipated DNA samples from the couple and child will be made to determine if the girl is their biological daughter.

The HSE sought an emergency care order after members of a Garda child protection unit called to a house in west Dublin where the child was living and removed the girl on Monday evening. She was living there ostensibly as one of a number of siblings in a family unit.

Gardaí had gone to investigate information that raised concerns on the couple’s claims the child was their biological daughter. At least one tip-off came from a journalist after a member of the public relayed their concerns to the reporter.

After spending a number of hours at the house in west Dublin, where the family has lived for up to five years, gardaí were not fully satisfied by the assurances of the couple, who are in their mid-30s, that the girl was their biological daughter.

The family produced a birth certificate and a passport to support their claims, which did not allay the gardaí’s concerns. The couple also told gardaí the child was born at a named maternity hospital in Dublin, although checks with the hospital did not confirm this.

The gardaí then removed the child under section 12 of the Childcare Act. She was medically examined and taken into the HSE care, which then applied to the court yesterday for the emergency care order to facilitate the child remaining in care.

The family was insisting the child was “100 per cent” theirs, said Gabby Muntean, a support worker who has been in regular contact with the parents.

“They are very upset. They have told me the child is 100 per cent theirs and have offered blood tests and DNA tests to prove this,” she said. “Now, they just want their daughter back. It is hard to see any reason why this happened, other than the reports from Greece.”

Ms Muntean said the family has been based in Ireland for more than seven years and the parents insisted the child was born in Dublin.