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

I thank the Deputy for his persistence on this matter. I also acknowledge the role of the whistleblower.

I confirm to the House that I have been given an assurance by the HSE that there are new policies and processes in place in CHO 1 to manage safeguarding concerns, including in the residential service that was the subject of the Brandon report. The independent review carried out by the national independent review panel is critical and I am keen to see the learnings from the report made public and acted upon. It is also important to outline to the House that, taking account of the HSE board's governance and oversight responsibilities, I have sought, by way of letter to the chair of the HSE board earlier today, to provide the Department of Health with its consideration as to the robustness of the fitness for purpose of the HSE services on critical incident reporting; incident management processes; safeguarding systems and process; and the HSE's oversight of safeguarding systems for services provided in sections 38 and 39 organisations, including arrangements in place through service level agreements.

In addition, I have, as a matter of urgency, requested that the HSE, taking account of the HIQA national standards on safeguarding, conducts a review and audit of the current implementation of the safeguarding standards. As a Minister of State, I need the reassurance that standards on safeguarding are being met right across the country. The independent review carried out by the national independent review panel is critical and I am keen to see the learnings from the report made public and acted upon so that we can better inform how we care, support and safeguard our most vulnerable service users in the future. For any of the affected families that are watching these proceedings, I want to send my assurances that I will not stop working until the report is published.

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