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

I agree with much of what Deputy Clare Daly said. Sexual abuse must be dealt with in a definite way in the context of legislation but I must reflect on the role of Tusla in many of the cases I have come across where false allegations have been made by a professional within the family home and where those allegations have been proven to be false, but yet it is almost impossible to deal with the issue and have the family cleared. The allegation will have been reported to An Garda Síochána and to Tusla but there is no process by which the family can adequately clear their name. In a situation such as this, the moment sexual abuse is mentioned there is a presumption of guilt. That issue should be addressed in the Bill.

Deputy Clare Daly outlined many of my concerns. My other issue relates to children who are in the care of the State. This Bill has been debated by this House. We are all interested in getting issues right such as mandatory minimum sentencing and so on. However, what about when this House discussed the Grace case and when Members decided to hold an inquiry? Nothing has been heard about that since. We are talking about those who are most vulnerable and are in the care of the State, those who are mentally or physically challenged and who have been terribly abused in the past, such as Grace and the other 46 cases, yet the Government made every effort to narrow that investigation and to shut it down. Where within this Bill can we deal with cases like that? Where in this Bill is the State's responsibility outlined in respect of cases such as that relating to Grace?

Where stands that investigation? How will it be dealt with in the context of the principle of the legislation we are debating here today? It is an absolute shame that the Government has abandoned these 47 cases and has done nothing to ensure HSE compliance with the investigation. In that investigation, the families that were most affected by the most awful sexual abuse on family members were treated in an appalling way by the HSE. The investigation against them was so aggressive that they became the victims of the investigation. I ask the Minister to investigate that and see what can be done.

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