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

I thank the Deputy for her important question. The abuse suffered by these very brave young women while in foster care in the early 2000s is shocking, and I am very sorry that their lives were so disrupted and deeply impacted by it. The Deputy will appreciate that although the review was started in 2016, it was suspended during the criminal investigation and prosecution and only became active again when these processes were completed. I have been advised by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, that the NRP expects to finalise its report by the end of this month. It had been expected that the report would be completed by the end of October.

Part of the review process is to give all those who participated in the review, including the young people involved and Tusla staff, an opportunity to review and respond to the sections of the report which relate to them. When deciding whether to publish any NRP report, Tusla must consider the views of the young people involved and the potential impact publication may have on them and their families. The guidance governing the NRP states that it must operate independently of both Tusla and my Department. I therefore cannot instruct the NRP to bring forward the submission of the report. I am not in a position to interfere with the process. To do so would be inappropriate and would run the risk of compromising the independence of the NRP.

I am aware that the reviewers are leading experts in the areas of child protection, foster care and child sexual abuse. It is important that the work is independent, and can be clearly seen to be independent. The NRP must also be allowed the time it requires to complete its work properly, and for the Tusla staff involved to be afforded fair procedures. I very much hope that the report will be published, subject to the points I have outlined here, and most important, subject to the views of the young women involved.

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