No charges are to be brought against a former member of staff at a Co Wexford children's residential centre against whom an allegation of abuse was levelled last year, it has emerged.
The allegation of abuse was made in January 2001 by a girl being cared for in the centre, which is run by the South Eastern Health Board.
It was made against a male member of staff, who opted not to report for work once the allegation was made.
The allegation was validated by the health board and reported to the Garda, which sent a file to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
However, the DPP decided against a prosecution, according to an inspection report on the centre, which has just been published by the Irish Social Services Inspectorate.
The name of the centre, which caters for six children, two boys and four girls aged 11 to 16, is not disclosed in the report.
The inspectors found staff members "were struggling to accept and come to terms with what had been disclosed".
"They had offered various supports to the young people and increased their supervision of them.
However, inspectors were concerned that staff members had responded to this event in a way that seemed to have as its primary objective the protection of colleagues rather than the safeguarding of the young people," the report said.
While inspectors commended the health board for the manner in which it had dealt with the allegation, they said it was highly unsatisfactory that a childcare manager from a different area who was asked to monitor the centre in April 2001 had not done so by the time the inspectors visited the unit in February 2002.
"This seems an extraordinary omission, given the concerns arising from the disclosure of abuse referred to elsewhere in this report".
Inspectors also expressed concern about a number of other issues, including the fact that some members of staff had commenced employment in advance of written references and Garda clearance having been obtained.
"This is not safe practice and inspectors recommend that it cease immediately".
They also said staffing levels were too low, that care plans were not developed for some children until years after their admission, and that the children had too little money.
However, they noted that care practices and record-keeping were good and that there were good relationships between staff and the young people.
A spokeswoman for the SEHB said the report was being examined by members of the board's management team. Any recommendations from the report that had not already been put into practice by the board as part of its own reviews and developments would be fully implemented.