Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is important that this House discuss the findings of the Farrelly commission's inquiry into the Grace case. Grace was failed by the State and her service providers. Concerns were raised as far back as 1993. Grace and her family deserve the truth and the establishment of the full facts of the case.

The commission, under chairperson and sole member Marjorie Farrelly, SC, commenced its investigation on 15 May 2017. Four years on, it is regrettable that we do not have a final report. My colleague, Deputy McGuinness, has consistently raised this in the House. I commend him on his tenacity in this regard. It is important for this House to see the final report.

Under the terms of reference, as approved by the Government in March 2017, a final report on the commission's phase 1 work into Grace's case was due to be submitted to the Minister for Health within one year of the commission commencing its work. The commission has received a number of time extensions to enable it to carry out its work in accordance with the terms of reference. The pandemic will have had an impact on the work of the commission. That is understandable. In the circumstances, I support the extension for another 12 months so the commission may continue with its work but I would like to see the final report on Grace's case.

The interim findings of the commission are a matter of deep concern as it is clear that, at the time in question, the South-Eastern Health Board, and subsequently the HSE, failed to adhere to their statutory obligations. These reports point to a series of historic systemic failings on the part of the various public bodies. It should be acknowledged that the national policy on the care of children and adults with intellectual disabilities has developed significantly since the periods covered by the reports, including through the establishment of the national safeguarding policy and the safeguarding committee in each of the community healthcare organisations, the appointment of a confidential recipient, and the establishment of a national independent review panel. However, as we have seen in the Brandon report, Grace's case may not be an isolated incident. There may be more systemic failures. The needs of service users must be prioritised, and lessons must be learned. A start would be the full publication of the Brandon report, as called for by the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, on several occasions.

Last month, the Minister for Health and the Minister of State responsible for disabilities published two substantive interim reports of the commission of investigation. The first covers the period from 1989 to 1996, when Grace reached adulthood. It covers the role of public authorities in her care and protection and the arrangements whereby her foster home was identified. The second report covers the period from 1997 to 2007. The commission has found that there were repeated and systemic failings in the management of the care of Grace, an intellectually disabled woman left in foster care for two decades despite concerns about physical and sexual abuse.

As an infant, Grace was given into the voluntary care of the State. She lived in several residential and foster home settings within the Eastern Health Board area up to the age of 11. She was then placed in the foster care of family X by the South-Eastern Health Board in February 1989. This was in a home in the south east. She lived with family X into adulthood, or until she was nearly 31 years of age, which was almost for 20 years. The commission found that Grace was placed in foster care along with other vulnerable adults and children despite her foster parents – identified only as "Mr. and Mrs. X" – having criminal convictions. The investigation could not conclude whether Mr. X's convictions for larceny and theft, dating from 1966, and Mrs X's convictions for larceny in 1988 would have prevented them from being approved as foster parents for Grace in 1989, "but considers that it is unlikely to have done so". This is extraordinary. The HSE was unable to tell the commission whether there was a policy within the South-Eastern Health Board in or around 1989 that would have prohibited children from being placed in the care of individuals against whom there were criminal convictions. Grace remained in the family's care until 2009 despite allegations of abuse.

The commission found that, in the care and decision-making in Grace's case from 1997 to 2006, there were:

– [an] ongoing lack of clarity about Grace's legal status as a vulnerable adult;

– misconceptions about the role and legal status of Mrs. and Mr. X and Grace's mother with respect to decision making for Grace;

– ongoing confusion/misunderstanding about what had occurred in Grace's case in 1996;

– ongoing failure to seek legal advice or to follow through on the issue of wardship;

– inconsistent approach to monitoring;

– failures in information sharing and working with incomplete information;

– absence of proper supervision and oversight;

– paralysis around interconnection between care decisions and legal considerations;

– lack of co-ordination and follow through; and

– delay, indecision and U-turns.

Failings in Grace's care and overarching systemic issues affecting her case "resulted in her case disappearing from view within the health board" from when she was 18 until she was 28. That sends a chill down our spines and those of parents or others who look to the State for care. We saw a programme some days ago on historical failings in this State but the case we are talking about arose during my lifetime, not decades ago.

The commission stated that the reactive, rather than proactive, manner in which the disability service operated, together with the absence of oversight and regular file reviews, "contributed to Grace's case falling through the cracks and out of sight in 2001".

The commission has found that the South-Eastern Health Board and its officials were the decision-makers. It is clear they failed in their responsibility to Grace, and possibly other vulnerable individuals under their care. Grace has been failed by the South-Eastern Health Board and State. She and her family must receive justice. Lessons must be learned and all vulnerable people must be protected in the future. I look forward to examining the final report of the commission.

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