"Deeply distressing, upsetting and unacceptable." 

These are the words used by Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Frances Fitzgerald to describe Tuesday night’s RTÉ programme about childcare in three Irish crèches.

Speaking on Morning Ireland, Fitzgerald descried the treatment of children shown in the programme as ‘emotional abuse’, and said that such practices would not be allowed to continue.

The much talked about programme, which featured three crèches in Dublin and Wicklow highlighted shocking lapses in care and understanding for the vulnerable youngsters, something the Minister said that parents watching would be ‘haunted by’. 

Ms. Fitzgerald added that inspection reports on childcare facilities will in the future be made public online within a couple of weeks, and that the need for more inspectors will also be addressed. She added that families concerned by the broadcast could ask their childcare facility or local HSE office for a copy of the inspection reports related to their crèche.

Two of the three facilities featured in the programme have apologised for distress caused to parents and children. A spokesperson for Little Harvard in Rathnew in Co Wicklow, said the company was committed to providing a high quality service and was deeply concerned about the contents of the programme, while Giraffe has said it is ‘profoundly sorry’ for the distress caused at its centre in Stepaside in Dublin. 

RTÉ have this morning confirmed that the programme, Breach of Trust, will not be repeated or made available on the RTÉ Player, a decision they say was ‘made in consultation with parents of the children featured in the programme’.