Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I deeply appreciate the questions the Deputy is raising. First, she outlined the commissioning and process of the review and its importance, as well as the hope regarding what that could provide to us as we move forward in our job and, most importantly, in respect of what is going on within the campus to raise the standard of care and safety for the children and young people and for the individuals who work there. She also outlined the importance of the review in the context of other reviews, which I acknowledged that at the time.

Second, the review was conducted and recommendations were made. Recommendations were published and they became part of a group of hundreds of recommendations from the various other reviews that were compiled and synthesised to develop an action plan. They are being implemented by an oversight group that I put in place to do that. The recommendations that came out of the review have been attended to and they are being addressed and implemented in the context of that work. We have some light that we are working with in respect of the author of that report as distinct from complete darkness.

Third, with regard to the publication of the full report as distinct from the recommendations, the board received legal advice that it would not be safe to do so. I also sought legal advice from the Attorney General and the advice was that prior to the report being published, due process would need to be followed by way of considering publication. My understanding is that the director now has a copy of the report and due process will be followed. I will then seek additional advice to ensure due process has been completed and when that happens, I will ask for the report to be published.