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

I thank the Ceann Comhairle and all Members for their contributions. I acknowledge that my opening statement was scant. I do acknowledge that. Perhaps it gives me the opportunity to address all of the issues that were raised. I have to remind myself because sometimes I sail a little bit close to the wind in my commentary. Today it is about the commission.

At the outset, it is important - and this is for my benefit as much as it is for anybody else’s, I remind the House - to say that I am mindful that this is an active commission of investigation. As the commission is entirely independent in the conduct of its investigation, it would not be appropriate for me to comment on the substance of the report at this time as I do not wish to interfere with or prejudice the commission’s ongoing investigation. However, a Cheann Comhairle, I would like to address the comments of what my colleagues have brought up here on floor of the Chamber, if that is okay.

Needless to say, I start by thanking the role of the whistleblower in this case and in the Brandon case. I also acknowledge the role of the Committee of Public Accounts in keeping this right, front and centre. I welcome the Ceann Comhairle’s suggestion to have regular meetings. Perhaps when we are discussing the Grace case and the Farrelly commission, we might look at the broader lens, whether it be historical or current reports. I welcome that and I will engage at all times with anybody who wishes to have such meetings. I thank the Business Committee for allowing this opportunity today.

I completely agree with Deputy Shortall in her comments that justice delayed is justice denied. I thank all Members again for their contributions. It has been a very honest discussion and it is one that is needed at this juncture to remind us of what exactly the Farrelly commission is. As Deputy Connolly has said, how many reports has it taken for us to get to the stage we are at now, which is not even at a halfway house, four years on?

Deputy Connolly mentioned some figures on costs. It is important for me to deal with that issue, which may answer some questions. The Farrelly commission’s costs to date are €7,022,820.04. This figure includes the commission’s legal team, staff, administrative and accommodation costs and third-party legal costs. This does not include the ward of court Grace’s costs, which were €442,000. There is a sum there in between.

There is no denying that the work of the commission is taking longer than it should. I have to acknowledge the support I received from my senior Minister, Deputy Donnelly, at both of the meetings that I have had with the Farrelly commission to try to ensure that we are moving this along and that it is not just left on a shelf and sitting idly by without terms of accountability arising from it. I myself am incredibly disappointed that after this length of time, we cannot bring it to a conclusion because I sat on the benches opposite here demanding that we would have accountability and transparency and that it is not all about a system.

People are paid to do a job and they should do that job right. That is the accountability that I talk about. While there have been system failures, which I accept, at the end of the day, no different to the way in which I am held to account for the job that I do, as are all the Deputies present, people in roles of responsibilities need to be held to that accountability too. We should not be stonewalled by report after report after report to ensure that the truth is not told.

Why do I refer to the Brandon report today? The reason I spent time on the Brandon report is that one has to look at the similarities and at the timeline on it. It started in 2016 and I can tell the House that the result of this report and the NIRP is absolutely brilliant. It has all of the answers in 77 pages. We need to be able to see that because one does not have 77 pages but one has 800 pages and does not have transparency, accountability or the various bodies either under that microscope. If we cannot solve and fix it, how can we move on as a State? That is where we need to get to, the underbelly of where it is going wrong. Deputy Ó Cathasaigh asked me a very clear question there. As the Ceann Comhairle knows, I am one to answer a straight question when I am asked one. He asked me clearly if there are more NIRPs. The answer is “Yes”. He asked me how many and there are two. He asked me which CHO they were in and they are in CHO 5. We have not got to the bottom of that in itself. It is still ongoing. Me laying that out here today has in itself its own ripple effects because it is in disability. One can go from Donegal to Kilkenny to Waterford and these are all different organisations.

We need to know exactly how to understand a person who has intellectual disabilities and is non-verbal in the care of the State. We are all responsible for the administration and care of our most vulnerable people. We have to know that the system works. We have to have confidence in it. The staff need reassurance that the systems they are working in and the services they are providing are of the highest standards and protect our most vulnerable at all times, from the early years into adulthood and day care, and adult residential and respite services. That is important and I will not stop until I get the Brandon report published.

The publication of the Brandon report sets a very clear lens as to our expectation of all reports going forward. I was not in this role when the commission was set up. I did not set the rules of engagement. That does not mean that I will not hold it to account, get it published and will not have continuous engagement with the commission's inquiry to ensure that the report is published. My thoughts are also with the other 46 people because this is not just about Grace. Forty-six other people have to be thought about, in terms of the impacts and implications for them and their families. Where were their voices and advocacy? The question we need to know is whether there was advocacy. That is the most important question.

I want to address a few other things. It was stated that nobody thought it was fit to ask why, nobody spoke up for her, Grace was failed and Grace cannot speak and was intellectual non-verbal. My thoughts are also with the other 46 affected who were then children and are now adults. I agree that those responsible need to be held to account. I wish to reiterate some of the words that were said. I was asked when will Brandon report will be published. I was initially told that we would have an interim executive summary within 28 days of when An Garda Síochána wrote the first letter. I am now led to believe that it will be within 56 days of the first letter. Either way, I was heartened to hear the Minister, Deputy Coveney, today call for its full publication. I am heartened by the support of the Taoiseach on the publication of the Brandon report.

Deputy Berry asked whether I am confident there will be a final report next June. I have to be honest. I am not because it has taken us four years to get this far. I would love to think that it would be concluded by June but if I stood here and said that I would be misleading him because I have seen how hard was to get to the publication of the interim report. I have to thank the Attorney General for his support in the publication of the two substantive interim reports.

The legislation on safeguarding and accountability needs to be enacted as quickly as possible. The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, is doing an awful lot on that. I want to thank Deputy Connolly for bringing together the steps of all the other reports that laid the bedrock to eventually have a commission and for understanding the timeline involved. There was a report about a report, but there was never action for Grace. I never felt that any of that was about Grace. Rather, it was about protecting the State rather than the State protecting Grace. Until such time as we put every Grace at the centre of our conversation and persons with disabilities have their rights vindicated under the UN optional protocol, we are doing a disservice to people with disabilities.

That is as much as I can say on all of the matters raised, but I will be very open to coming before the House at any stage on this. The structure was unfortunate, but we are where we are. We need to ensure that full publication in a speedy manner happens, and I will not be found short in wanting to ensure that happens.

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