This article is from page 13 of the 2007-11-27 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 13 JPG
MARTINA Baker told the court yesterday that her duty was “for the care of the children” and denied the AT Neone ree Rem eoe
Ms Baker said she had run the creche, which was located on the Quin Road in Ennis, for more than 10 years.
She said that there was not a musty smell from the room where the ba- bies were asleep.
“I dispute that. There was at least one child with a soiled nappy, if not two,’ said Ms Baker.
She also disputed the allegations regarding the sanitary accommoda- tion of the créche.
“The building is vented. They are young children you are dealing with. We would have let the older ones use the toilets on their own, for privacy and they may not have flushed after,” said Ms Baker.
She said a cleaning regime pro-
gramme was in place on the premises and that the Health Service Execu- tive (HSE) did not offer any specific guidance on cleaning.
Referring to the allegation that the running water in the bathroom was cold, she said the water is thermo- statically controlled and was spe- cially installed when the créche was olebn te
“I wasn’t told there was no hot wa- ter. I don’t know whether or not it was. I didn’t check it that day. I can’t
comment whether it was hot or not,” she added.
She also denied that there was dust or dirt on a floor in a playroom as had been alleged by HSE staff who visited the premises in March 2006.
She said she used floor cleaning solution and hot water once a day to clean the floors.
Solicitor for the HSE – which is taking the case – Cathal Minihane asked her if the sanitary accommo- dation was cleaned regularly, would
it be fair to say there wouldn’t have been a smell of urine.
Ms Baker replied, “I could not say Whether an unflushed toilet would smell or not.”
Mr Minihane said that there was a musty smell from the sleeping room and not the smell of a soiled nappy, but she denied this.
“I wrote to the HSE looking for a definition of must but I never got a reply. I don’t know what the chemical composition of must is,’ she said.