Nine-week-old baby suffered severe head injury as she ‘fell down the stairs’, gardaí told

The Sunday World can reveal that the small child also had a large number of bruises on her body which are being classified as suspicious.

There have been no arrests so far in the investigation.

But senior sources said last night that the incident is likely to be upgraded to a criminal matter.

This has not happened yet pending the results of medical reports and interviews with two adults.

The incident happened in a house in Co Louth.

It is understood that the little girl has two older siblings but it is not known if they were in the property when the incident occurred.

Gardaí have been working with the child protection agency Tusla as part of their investigation.

Yesterday it emerged that gardaí were told the baby girl had “fell down the stairs”.

The infant, from Louth, is currently critically ill at Dublin’s Temple Street Children’s Hospital.

The circumstances into how she sustained her life-threatening injuries are currently the subject of the Garda investigation.

She was rushed to hospital after gardaí and emergency services were alerted.

It is understood that investigators do not believe that the child’s injuries were inflicted accidentally.

But they are continuing to carry out inquiries.

Gardaí have said that they are investigating all of the circumstances surrounding the incident.

As part of the investigation, senior gardaí have held a case conference at Drogheda garda station to coordinate their probe.

In a statement, Tusla said: “Any trauma or injury to a child is very difficult for the family and community.

“However, it’s not appropriate for Tusla to comment at this time, while all the facts are not known.

“When a child or family enters into a relationship with a public service such as Tusla they are entitled to expect that information generated in that relationship is treated in confidence and remains private,” it added.

“This is critically important in the subject matters which Tusla is involved,” the statement said.

Gardaí on Thursday confirmed that an investigation is under way.

“The infant is currently in a critical condition.

“No further information is available at this time,” said a spokesperson.