John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Mr. O'Brien, you and the members have been here since 12 o'clock. I am suggesting that we take a break for half an hour. Before we suspend, I want to put two things on record for this part of the meeting. In 2009, the HSE was told about the risk to Ann and was asked to take the necessary and reasonable steps to protect her. That is a fact. She was still there in 2013. In respect of Grace, if my calculation is right from information that I have received, the foster mother would have been paid up to €70,000 in disability allowance. The HSE knew that Grace was at risk of financial abuse in 2007 and did nothing. In 2009, when she was taken into care, she had no belongings, no documents and no money. If that did not ring bells in an organisation, I just do not know what would. Those two statements are factual. Maybe we will address them later on.