SOCIAL workers want to take DNA samples from a newborn baby girl found abandoned on a Co Dublin roadside as part of efforts to trace her mother.
The infant, named ‘Maria’ by nurses at Dublin’s Coombe hospital, was discovered in a bag left at a gate to farmland on the Steelstown Road in Rathcoole on Friday afternoon.
The baby, who was between 24 and 36 hours old, was naked but had been wrapped in a blanket and plastic bag before being put in a shopping bag. Replicas of the items found with her were put on display by gardaí on Monday.
She was in a weak condition and suffering the effects of being left in inclement weather conditions when she was found by chance by a passing motorist. However, her condition is now described as stable.
Clondalkin gardaí have appealed for the baby’s mother to come forward and to seek medical help, stressing that she is not in trouble and that they are only concerned for her welfare.
The Republic’s child and family agency, Tulsa, has now secured a 28-day interim care order for the infant, legally known as ‘Jane Doe’, from Dublin’s Family Court.
Judge Brendan Toale granted the order after hearing that the little girl would require ongoing medical treatment at the Coombe and Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital Crumlin.
Doctors want to conduct a brain scan on the infant and other examinations while social workers are keen to carry out a DNA test to assist in efforts to trace her parents.
