Their mother, who is a Polish Roma gypsy, is facing charges in relation to the illtreatment of her daughter, who subsequently died. Her children were returned to her care against the wishes of welfare officers, who wanted them to be accommodated elsewhere.

The Sunday Tribune has learned that the three children, aged between 12 months and ten years, were returned to their mother's care over a week ago despite a health board decision that the children should be kept in temporary care.

It is understood the children had been in the care of their paternal grandparents.

However, the elderly couple returned to their home in England over a week ago and the three children have spent the time since then in the care of their mother, who is facing charges in relation to serious injuries sustained by her three-year-old daughter prior to the child's death last August.

It is understood that no attempt has been made to remove the children from their mother's Tralee home since they were returned there by a relative. A spokesman for the Health Service Executive said it could not comment on any individual case.

Thirty-year-old Monica Paczkowska, of Killeen Woods in Tralee, was charged at Tralee district court in August last with wilfully illtreating a child in her care, at the same address, in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering or injury to the child's health or to seriously affect her wellbeing.

The charge was brought under Section 246 of the Children Act (2001). The prosecution is understood to be the first of its kind to be brought under this section of the 2001 act. Asked if she wanted to reply to the charges, the defendant had nothing to say.

The three-year-old girl died after being admitted to Kerry General Hospital in the early hours of 3 August last with serious head injuries.

Through a translator, Paczkowska told the court that children fall and get injured.

A postmortem that was carried out by the assistant state pathologist, Dr Margot Bolster, had shown that the child's injuries were "not consistent with a fall or with children playing", the state prosecutor told the court during the lengthy remand hearing.

Paczkowska is due to appear again on Wednesday at Tralee district court.