Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I refer to the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act. We are all rubbing our hands about the case of Grace - rightly so - and the Tuam mothers and babies. I put a question to the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Zappone, about the abuse cases continuing to this day. As part of her reply, I was informed by Tusla that, according to the most recent figures disaggregated by the category of abuse for the years 2013 to 2014, a total of 19,407 cases of physical, sexual and emotional abuse as well as abuse relating to neglect were received in 2013. There was an increase in 2014 and 18,235 cases in 2015. This is going on under our noses as we sit here, rub our hands, give out about the past and talk about what we will do about the future. More than 18,000 cases of neglect and sexual, physical and emotional abuse were recorded in 2015. They are the latest figures, and we can be sure this happened in 2016 and is happening today. We need to wash a lot of dirty linen, see what is going on in Tusla, the HSE and under our noses, and not have inquiries 20 years from now, when we will all be gone, about what we let happen under our watch.

See this speech in context