Trial of five Áras Attracta workers gets underway

THE trial of five care workers charged with assault at the Áras Attracta residential centre in Swinford has begun this morning at the Circuit Criminal Court in Castlebar.

The five each face a single charge of assault on dates in November 2014.

The proceedings follow a report by the RTÉ Investigations Unit on care standards at the Swinford centre.

The State called the head of the investigations unit, Paul Maguire, as its first witness.

Mr. Maguire has been outlining how footage was obtained at Áras Attracta and the process that led to it being collected each day by an undercover reporter.

The trial is expected to take a number of days to complete.