A total of €615,000 has been granted after forty-one families who sued the Hyde & Seek crèche business in north Dublin for the alleged abuse of their children settled for €15,000 apiece at the High Court, reports RTE.
After mediation, a settlement was made without Hyde & Seek Childcare admitting any culpability.
According to John Gordon, SC on behalf of the parents, the children were “treated in a way that was unacceptable” and they became “stressed” and resistant to attending crèche. For these reasons, the lawsuits were filed on behalf of their children against the crèche owners, Anne and Peter Davy and their daughter Siobhán, reports RTE.
Mr. Gordon gave Mr. Justice Coffey an overview of the settlement, explaining how the Hyde & Seek crèche business in Dublin was the target of the proceedings after an investigation by RTÉ Investigates – Creches, Behind Closed Doors in 2019.
The show exposed a breach in care standards at the time in all four of the company’s crèches through undercover recording, which the High Court heard generated some controversy once it was aired, reports RTE.
According to Mr Gordon, every kid engaged was pre-verbal, extremely young, and attended the creche for up to 50 hours per week, with the majority attending for up to six months.
Parents saw that their children’s progress appeared to regress once they were brought home, and they questioned why, reports RTE.
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