Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak to the House about allegations of heinous and horrendous abuse in a foster and respite home in the south east and the subsequent alleged neglect and endangerment by the authorities which should have acted differently. These issues are a matter of grave concern for me, the Government and, increasingly, the public as it has learned more about them in recent days and weeks. It is important, however, not to forget that no matter how horrific, these remain allegations. There have been Garda investigations, but there have been no prosecutions or convictions to date. An inquiry is certainly needed and that is the reason the Minister of State, Deputy Lynch, and I have recommended it to the Government. However, we should not and cannot have the inquiry here on the floor of this House. That is not our role. Also, we should not come to conclusions or prescribe outcomes until we know all the facts. Clearly, we do not know all the facts at this stage.

Every child or vulnerable adult who uses disability services is entitled to expect and receive care of the highest standard and to live in dignity and safety. Our aim always must be to ensure people maximise their potential and live rich and fulfilling lives. They and their families trust us to care for them with kindness, compassion and respect.

While it is clear that grave issues have been raised about the protection of vulnerable people, children and adults, in the south east, it has been very difficult to establish the facts with certainty. The matters relating to the allegations of abuse in the south east were raised by the Committee of Public Accounts in 2015, in the context of the procurement process for the Devine report and the Resilience Ireland report into these matters and the extended period of time during which it has not been possible to publish these reports. In response to these concerns and the delays in publishing these reports, which may yet answer many of the questions currently unanswered, with my support the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch appointed Conor Dignam, Senior Counsel, to undertake a review into these matters, taking into account the ongoing Garda investigation. This review is ongoing and will report back at the end of April. In many ways, it is scoping out the commission of investigation which will follow.

I have received assurances from the HSE that the person at the centre of the Conal Devine inquiry, whom we are calling Grace, was removed from the foster family seven years ago, in 2009. I understand that Grace is now in full-time residential care with a voluntary service provider and that she has been well cared for over the past seven years.

These matters are complicated by the fact that they remain the subject of an ongoing Garda investigation, which has precluded the HSE from publishing the Devine and Resilience Ireland reports because of Garda concern that nothing should happen, be done or said that might jeopardise the potential Garda investigation.

Those in this House who are demanding accountability and for people to be held to account immediately should consider the possibility that they may be helping, with their words, those people to avoid accountability and prosecution. I appeal to Members to bear that in mind in their comments. Trials have been halted in the courts in this State because of comments by politicians in this House and people who should have been convicted were not as a result of utterances in the Dáil. I ask Members to bear that in mind in any contributions they make on the issue. Privilege may protect the Deputies but it may put others at risk and allow certain people to evade their responsibilities. It may be frustrating but it is very important that we do not prejudge the outcome. Instead, we must maintain focus on the questions that remain unanswered and, in particular, why Grace, as we now call her, was left in that home for many years after the authorities determined it was unsafe to place other people there. We still do not have a clear answer to that question.

In view of the seriousness of the issues raised, conflicting accounts, the fact the various whistleblowers are not aligned, incomplete information and misinformation from the HSE and the unanswered questions, we need to establish the facts. We are all agreed on that and so the Government has decided to establish a statutory commission of investigation. This is subject to the agreement of terms of reference and approval of the Oireachtas. I am in no doubt that the work under way by Mr. Conor Dignam, senior counsel, will make a key contribution in informing the drafting of the terms of reference for the commission of investigation. Additional resources have been allocated to Mr. Dignam to allow him to accelerate the completion of his scoping report.

Both the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, and I have requested copies of the Devine report and the Resilience Ireland report from the HSE under section 40C of the Health Act 2004. This is an important development as we believe that direct access to these papers will assist our understanding of the relevant facts surrounding these disturbing allegations. The HSE has assured the Department of Health that it has not waited for the publication of the Devine report to act on its recommendations and that it has put in place a number of changes to take account of the service and management deficiencies identified. The Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, and I will verify that this is the case in the coming days.

The HSE has also assured me that work is well under way in implementing a comprehensive change programme of measures aimed at improving the quality of residential services for people with disabilities in the care of the State. This six-step change programme includes implementing the national policy and procedures on safeguarding vulnerable persons at risk of abuse as well as the appointment of Ms Leigh Gath as the confidential recipient. She will receive concerns of abuse, negligence, mistreatment or poor care practices in the HSE or HSE-funded services from patients, service users, families or other concerned individuals and staff. If people wish to make a confidential disclosure to Ms Gath, the option is now available. In addition, and at the request of the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, the HSE is establishing a national independent review panel with an independent chair and review team for disability services. That is in the 2016 service plan and the review panel will focus on serious incidents that occur in disability services across the HSE and HSE-funded services. It will review independently with a view to publication of its reports in order to ensure accountability and learning. We have already moved away from the idea of tendering reports to private companies and the Minister of State, Deputy Lynch, took action on this some time ago to put in place a standing independent national review panel. It will review issues like this independently and it is a pity that previous Governments did not do that.

I assure the House that the Government is committed to the protection of vulnerable people with a disability in the care of the State. I hope the new Dáil will approve the setting up of the statutory commission of investigation as one of its first acts and that this will also be approved by colleagues in the Seanad.

See this speech in context