GARDAI in the west of Ireland are investigating allegations of inappropriate behaviour by a ember of staff at a hostel during a visit by a group of Northern Ireland schoolchildren earlier this group of primary schoolgirls from the North were staying at the hostel on a school trip. After their first night there, some of the children told their teachers that they were anxious about staying another night at the hostel because of the behaviour of a male member of staff there.
Garda headquarters in Dublin confirmed that the force is "investigating allegations of inappropriate behaviour".
The schoolgirls most aged 10 or 11 years have since returned to the North. A number of them are understood to have been interviewed by their teachers and given statements about what happened.
The allegations were reported in the Irish News yesterday, and parents of the children spent the day at meetings in the school, trying to establish what happened and what action the school took when the children first complained.
Yesterday the school's teachers and board of governors issued a statement. "Our primary concern is for the welfare and protection of the children in our care," it said.
It promised "a full unearthing of all the facts" and said the board and staff were co-operating with gardai and the social services "to ensure a thorough investigation of this matter".