Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

All the findings of the Farrelly report are a tragedy. There are no words strong enough to describe the horrific abuse to the girl known to us all only as Grace. While we finally have another interim report, and while I appreciate the work of the commission on the case, there are still too many outstanding questions. Regardless of the questions the public should have answered, Grace and her family are the ones who deserve to know what exactly happened, why it happened and why it continued to happen.

Has the commission detailed exactly why a couple with serious criminal convictions was entrusted with the care of Grace? We are not talking about minor convictions; these were convictions handed down in a public setting in a public court. The relevant authorities knew well about the convictions, yet no one acted. While I understand and support the process of reforming criminals, this was not what happened here - far from it. In fact, when Grace presented with injuries, they were not even investigated, and some were not even correctly reported to the relevant authorities. Can we even be sure that the commission has been able to detail the entirety of Grace's injuries at the hands of the two people entrusted with her care? I am not satisfied that we can ever be assured of that.

If it had not been for those who finally raised the alarm and their voices on Grace's behalf, we probably would never have discovered the sheer horror that this girl lived with. I use the word "girl" because that is all that Grace was. She was only a child when this happened to her. Those of us with children know fully what that means because everything in our lives is about caring for them. Grace was a child who deserved to have her voice heard and needs met, but these were denied to her. Even worse, she was forced to endure the abuse even when it became apparent to others that she was living in circumstances that were resulting in both physical and emotional damage to her and others in the setting.

I wish to put on the record that although the commission found no wrongdoing on the part of politicians involved in supporting calls for Grace to remain with her foster family during this time, we all need to be reminded that it was a factor in delaying her removal from the house which, by default, elongated the abuse she suffered.

There is no doubt the commission has outlined the serious deficiencies in the care of Grace, but the Minister of State now has the responsibility of correcting and combatting the failures it outlined. I know she will take that responsibility seriously because we cannot allow this to happen to any child or adult in the State again. As other Deputies have stated, the reality is that right now across this country there are similar children in similar circumstances but the State is blind to that simply because the resources have not been put in place to deliver the right level of care. People from my constituency come to me all the time to highlight issues, particularly with social care and fostering and all of that, and there simply is not an adequate response in place due to a lack of resources. I am sure all other Members have had similar experiences. Tusla and the social care services tell me they are inundated with work. They simply cannot cope with the case file loads they have. We really need not just a reflection of action on this case and the horrific problems in the context of what happened to Grace and others whose cases have been documented so widely in the public domain, we also need to consider our responsibility to ensure the State provides the services for those who are in potentially similar circumstances right now.

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