Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Pringle for raising this issue and acknowledge his advocacy on this very sensitive matter. Anybody who has read or listened to reports on this issue will have been shocked and very upset at what happened and will struggle to understand how something like this could happen. When I heard about it, I was shocked and appalled that anything like this could happen anywhere at any point in time under any model of care, and for so long. My thoughts in the first instance are with the individuals and families affected. None of us can begin to imagine what they have been put through.

The HSE commissioned the national independent review panel to carry out a review of abuse allegations at a HSE-provided residential service for adults with a disability. The purpose was to review the governance arrangements in the facility and to understand why the situation had continued over a period of years without any effective action being taken by management during Brandon's residency to stop and prevent these assaults. The report identified 108 occurrences of sexually inappropriate behaviours by one resident, referred to by the pseudonym "Brandon", towards 18 other residents of the facility over an eight-year period between 2003 and 2011. The report notes that these incidents occurred with the knowledge of some staff and management of the facility at that time. It was eventually brought to light by the actions of an individual who approached a public representative in October 2016, who, in turn, brought it to the attention of the general manager of the county's disability services.

The safety and protection of vulnerable people in the care of the State are paramount, and the Government's first concern is to ensure that the needs of the current service users are being prioritised. The HSE has assured the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, that there is no ongoing risk and that the national governance and accountability structures to oversee the implementation of the recommendations arising from the report are in place. The HSE board has also advised that its focus is on ensuring that all the recommendations of the report are promptly acted on by the HSE.

With regard to publication of the report, An Garda Síochána has asked the HSE to withhold publication for the time being while it considers the findings. The HSE has indicated that it will publish the findings once it has received clearance to do so. The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, will engage with the HSE board on this in the days and weeks ahead. The Minister of State has also written to the Garda Commissioner about the publication of the report. The Government and I support her in this regard and believe that it should be published as soon as possible and without further delay.

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