Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Pringle for raising this issue, and most importantly, for bringing these matters to the attention of the HSE in 2016 on foot of concerns raised with him by a whistleblower. These concerns relate to the care and safeguarding of vulnerable service users in a HSE residential service for adults with a disability located within community healthcare organisation, CHO, 1, which comprises the counties of Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Cavan and Monaghan.

As the Minister of State with responsibility for disability, I stand here simply shocked at what I have learned has occurred, some of which the Deputy has also detailed. In addressing such a sensitive issue, it is important that I am as open and transparent as I can be, while also protecting the identities of vulnerable people involved. I am mindful that I do not provide further detail which would otherwise identify the location and service users concerned. In addition, it is important to note that these matters are also the subject of an ongoing Garda investigation.

In terms of a timeline of events, in December 2016, in light of concerns raised by Deputy Pringle, CHO 1 commissioned a look-back review. The purpose of the review was to investigate these concerns and a serious incident management team was established in CHO 1, consisting of the head of social care, the general manager and the disability services manager. In November 2018, the look-back review report was accepted by the HSE. It found that there were serious safeguarding concerns impacting service users in the residential service between 2003 and 2011. This resulted in open disclosure workshops being held for the staff involved in making disclosures arising out of findings in the look-back review and open disclosure meetings with the families of those affected with living relatives during November 2018.

In December 2018, in light of the findings of the look-back review, the HSE national director for quality assurance and verification commissioned the national independent review panel, NIRP, to carry out the Brandon report. A key remit of the NIRP is to seek to determine what the relevant services in the case might have done differently that could have prevented significant harm or improved the quality of life of the persons concerned. Although the NIRP is part of the HSE, it is independent of all HSE operations at both national and community level. It utilises the HSE's incident management framework to examine circumstances related to people who use community health and social care services where there are major concerns about how the services involved managed the care of an individual or group of individuals.

In August 2020, the Brandon report was submitted to the HSE. In mid-October 2020, Deputy Pringle approached me about the report. In early December 2020, I held a video call with the HSE to discuss the concerns raised with me by Deputy Pringle and sought a copy of the report. The HSE informed me at that point that a number of internal processes associated with the findings of the report were still in train and that this was not possible at that time but would be done in due course. In April 2021, in a meeting with the HSE, I was provided with a list of five recommendations stemming from the Brandon report. To ensure the recommendations were commensurate with the findings of the report, I once again requested a copy of it. Over recent weeks, both the Department and I have written to the HSE to request a copy of the report but it was not forthcoming. Earlier this week, on Tuesday, following correspondence with the HSE CEO, a redacted version of the report was finally shared with me for viewing on a screen. I understand that this process was similar to that provided to the board of the HSE, which recently also had an opportunity to view the report on a screen.

Today, I wrote to the chair of the HSE board once again seeking a physical copy of the report. From what I read on Tuesday, I found the report to be stark. The scale of the abuse detailed and the seeming breakdown of policies and procedures at the site were both appalling and devastating. The HSE has assured me that there is no ongoing risk to service users and that national governance and accountability structures to oversee implementation of the recommendations arising from the report are in place. My overarching concern is a question over whether the current system is safe and appropriate, not just in the CHO, but more broadly across all the health and social care systems, and that those who have been victims and their families are being supported.

To paraphrase from the letter I sent to the chair of the HSE board earlier today, and as the Deputy has said himself, I remain extremely concerned with the length of time that it has taken the HSE to reach a conclusion regarding the examination of these serious and significant matters, including the process of concluding the NIRP report. Therefore, I am again seeking definite confirmation of the timeline for publication of the report's findings and recommendations, as well as the process in place for engagement with the service users and families affected by these matters and the supports that have been put in place for these individuals.

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