Forty-one families who sued the Hyde & Seek crèche chain in north Dublin over the alleged treatment of their children have settled their cases for €15,000 each at the High Court, bringing the total sum awarded to €615,000.
The settlement was reached after mediation and there was no admission of liability by Hyde & Seek Childcare.
The lawsuits were taken on behalf of their children against the crèche owners, Anne and Peter Davy and their daughter Siobhán, because they were "treated in a way that was unacceptable" and the children became "stressed" and resistant to attending crèche according to John Gordon, SC on behalf of the parents.
Mr Gordon outlined the settlement to Mr Justice Coffey detailing how the proceedings were taken against the Hyde & Seek crèche chain in Dublin following an investigation in 2019 by RTÉ Investigates – Creches, Behind Closed Doors.
The programme used undercover filming to expose a lapse in standards of care across the company's four crèches at the time, which the High Court heard caused some controversy after it was broadcast.
Mr Gordon said all of the children involved were pre-verbal, very, very young and attended the crèche for up to 50 hours a week and most of them attended the crèche for up to six months.
Parents noted that when the children were taken home their progress seemed to go backwards and they wondered what was wrong.
The children were said to be hungry when they came home because of the poor quality of the food they received at crèche, Mr Gordon added.
The High Court was told the children also endured alleged overcrowded conditions and that many of the Hyde & Seek staff were poorly trained at the time of the investigation in 2019.
In each case, the parents paid for their own assessment of the impact on their children by a psychologist.
The court was told that those fees would be repaid in full to the parents, on top of the settlement of €15,000.
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Mr Justice Coffey was told that the children all had a similar experience which was "traumatic at the time".
However, Mr Gordon said because the children were young, they were sufficiently resilient to get over it.
The court heard that the assessment by the psychologists was said to be positive and that over a period of time the children involved will make a full recovery from the trauma they experienced.
Mr Gordon said while the settlements are for the children, he noted to the court that the reports noted that the parents also "suffered enormously".
He said they felt guilty over the fact their children were in a crèche that wasn’t providing the services that it should be. The High Court heard that this caused the parents some distress.
The settlement sum was reached after mediation of all the cases on 9 March last and reflects the judicial guidelines in cases of this type which provide for a sum between €800 and €15,000.
Mr Justice Coffey was told that the families received an offer that was compellingly appropriate for all of the children and avoids the cases having to go to trial which would have been "quite traumatic" for their parents. The resolution deals "honorably" with the claims by the parents, Mr Gordon said.
Mr Justice Coffey thanked Mr Gordon for outlining the background of these "distressing cases" and said he was satisfied that it has reached the maximum sums offered and he approved each of the settlements.
RTÉ investigates revealed in 2019 that the crèche group breached regulations including child to adult ratios and failed to keep records. Up to 20 children were left with one care worker for hours at a time.
The owners were also accused of "rough handling" the children.
Some of the other issues observed by RTÉ investigates included the failure of Hyde & Seek management to ensure staff were garda vetted before working with children.
TUSLA regulations state that vetting must be completed before a staff member is allowed any access to children, but this did not happen.
According to the Hyde and Seek website, the company currently runs four facilities across the city, all based in north Dublin.
