Ms Patricia Finlay:

In the investigation report HIQA identified that in 65 of the 671 cases it reviewed as part of its investigation it had sought clarification and assurances from Tusla with regard to the actions it was taking. We took HIQA's queries very seriously. In December 2017, we reviewed all the 65 cases identified by HIQA during the investigation process. The themes identified in those cases include a delay in follow up and queries around timelines in terms of completion of work. In our review we found that among the reasons for those delays was the complainant being unable to come and talk to us and additional work being necessary to get the complainant to come and tell his or her story about the disclosure. This is an extremely difficult process for a person. Very often he or she will have been working with a counsellor or psychiatrist for years to try to come to the point of telling us that story. As these are retrospective cases, very often dating back 20 or 30 years ago, finding the person subject to the abuse allegation can be difficult. Sometimes, the person is deceased.

Sometimes we cannot locate the person as the person has left the country. That presents challenges in terms of the timeline.

Those 65 cases were also very complex and multi-layered cases whereby there were significant concerns in terms of intergenerational abuse and the like. In our analysis of the 65 cases it is important to identify that HIQA and ourselves did not identify any child who had experienced actual harm as a result of either action or inaction by Tusla. It is important to provide that assurance to the public.