Toddlers 'spent 15-20 minutes outside creche'

Two children who left a Co Dublin creche by themselves were outside for up to 20 minutes until staff retrieved them, according to a resident who found the children.

A local childminder who did not want to be named said she noticed the children outside Giraffe creche, Stepaside, because “they were just on their own”. She said she informed gardaí that a little boy and a girl were wandering about a green area across the road from the creche.

The children, whom she estimated to be under two years, were outside for 15-20 minutes before a member of Giraffe staff came out and brought them back inside, she said.

When these claims were put to Giraffe yesterday, a spokeswoman for the creche chain said it had nothing to add to a previous statement.

On Tuesday, Giraffe issued a statement saying an investigation was under way after an animal handler who had brought pets in to show the children failed to properly close a side gate, allowing two toddlers to leave the centre. “A Giraffe carer observed the two children were missing and located them, along with a local resident, on a grass patch outside the creche,” it said. Giraffe said the correct staff ratio was present at the time.

Yesterday The Irish Times observed a worker from a locksmith and alarms company inspecting the keypad and locking system of a side gate at the creche.

The facility was one of three creches featured in an RTÉ Prime Time investigation broadcast in May into the treatment of children in childcare centres.

Blurred-out images of the facility showed children in obvious distress being frequently strapped into chairs for up to two hours a day.

The programme also said there was not enough staff to take care of the number of children.

The creche chain, which received well over €1 million from the State last year, issued a statement at the time saying it had suspended a staff member and was investigating the claims made in the programme.