Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)

I apologise again to the House.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Ceann Comhairle as ucht an ama agus an deis seo a thabhairt dom. I would like to express my personal gratitude to the Ceann Comhairle, members of the Opposition and all Members for the manner in which I have been facilitated today. I thank them all.

The Farrelly commission is a statutory commission of investigation established in 2017 to investigate the care and protection of "Grace" and others in a former foster home in the south east. The commission is entirely independent of the Government, the Minister and the Department in the performance of its functions.

At the heart of the report is Grace. A pseudonym was chosen to protect the identity and privacy of the young woman who lived with the foster family. We do not know her name and that is as it should be. Grace was born in a hospital in the south of Ireland in 1978. Grace has an intellectual disability and is non-verbal, with a requirement for lifelong care. Grace is now 46 years of age.

As an infant, Grace was given into the voluntary care of the State. Grace lived in a number of residential and foster settings within the then Eastern Health Board area up to the age of 11. In February 1989, she was placed by the South Eastern Health Board in the foster care of a family in their home in the south east. The Farrelly commission referred to this family as "Family X", again to preserve Grace's right to privacy. The foster parents are referred to as Mr. X and Mrs. X. Mr. X was 67 years old when Grace came to live with the family in 1989 and the foster mother was 50 years of age. Grace would stay with this family for the next 20 years.

Throughout her time with Family X, no social worker visited Grace's placement before 1995. Grace was not removed from the foster care family even when a complaint of sexual abuse was made to the South Eastern Health Board against Mr. X in 1996. The allegation was in relation to another individual who was no longer in the care of Family X. Mr. X died in the early 2000s.

In 2007, a social worker warned that Grace was vulnerable to abuse and exploitation in the areas of sexual abuse, financial abuse, physical abuse and neglect. He did so after becoming aware of the previous allegation against Mr. X. Grace was eventually removed from Family X in 2009 and moved to a residential facility.

For many years during her time with Family X, Grace did not attend any school. She was eventually brought to a day centre but, even then, her attendance could be irregular. By 2009, the commission's report states, Grace's oral hygiene had been substantially neglected for some years to the extent that seven of her teeth needed to be extracted as a result of gum disease. Grace lived with Family X into adulthood, until she was nearly 31 years of age.

In July 2009, the HSE removed Grace from the care of her former foster mother and placed Grace in residential care. She was made a ward of court in March 2010. The Office of the General Solicitor for Minors and Wards of Court, as Grace's committee in wardship, along with her legal team, represented Grace's interests before the commission. The commission submitted two substantive interim reports on its investigation to the Department of Health, which were published on 1 October 2021.

The commission's findings on the extent to which Grace suffered any abuse are as follows. There is a finding of serious neglect on the part of Mrs. X in regard to the lack of attention to Grace's dental care. There is a finding of neglect on the part of Mrs. X in not ensuring that Grace attended the day centre more regularly and more consistently. The commission is satisfied there was neglect in the standard of care provided by Mrs. X to Grace, based on evidence given in relation to Grace's clothing and personal hygiene. The commission states there was a level of financial mismanagement or abuse by Mrs. X of Grace's disability allowance in breach of her duties as agent. The commission tells us the evidence to it did not establish neglect of Grace in the provision of food and sustenance to her over the years she lived with Family X. The commission records it is not satisfied that the evidence was such as to establish that marks or bruises sustained by Grace were as a result of her having been subjected to physical abuse. The commission states the evidence did not establish that Grace had been subjected to sexual abuse over the years she lived with Family X. Further, the commission states it is not satisfied that evidence provided established or supported a finding that there had been emotional abuse of Grace.

The commission makes a number of findings in the final substantive report about decision-making in respect of Grace's care throughout the period July 2007 to March 2010. The commission's report found that the general absence of oversight and monitoring of Grace in her placement by the South Eastern Health Board and the HSE inevitably permitted the areas of neglect established in the evidence to develop or persist over time, more or less unchecked. This was a fundamental failure of their duty of care to Grace in the circumstances. The commission further highlights shortcomings by the South Eastern Health Board in the investigation of sexual abuse allegations made against Family X and the lack of proper consideration to the position of Grace and her care in that context.

The commission of investigation has gathered 312,000 pages of documentation over the course of eight years, with the final report running to almost 2,000 pages. I remain of the view that an executive summary would have allowed greater accessibility to those impacted by the report and, indeed, the public at large. However, for the information of the House, the commission's view is that it would have been impracticable to do so, having regard to the detailed factual background derived from the evidence contained in its three substantive reports, which collectively amount to around 2,800 pages.

One of the commission's terms of reference, known as part X, relates to whether the facts and information gathered in the course of the inquiry warrant scope for any further work the commission could undertake in the public interest. That information included 47 cases where other children had stayed with Mr. and Mrs. X in their home as part of fostering or respite arrangements. The commission's statement on the part X conclusions indicates that there is an absence of information in the possession of the commission identifying issues for further investigation. This is with respect to matters to do with the role or conduct of public authorities in respect of seven cases identified, akin to the types of concerns raised in respect of Grace, save for two cases where the role of public authorities has already been investigated and reported upon by the commission. The commission states that there were no prosecutions recommended by An Garda Síochána or directed to be taken by the DPP in the case of any of the 47 people referenced in the statement on part X. Following extensive consideration of these matters by the Department of children in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General, the Government has taken a decision that there is not a clear basis for moving forward to a phase 2 of the commission of investigation.

I pay particular tribute to those who stepped forward and made protected disclosures relating to the handling of Grace's case.

Their courage and persistence were instrumental in her finally being moved out of the foster home.

I would also like to acknowledge the work of all the members of the Dáil's Committee of Public Accounts in highlighting and indeed pursuing Grace's case. Deputies Cullinane and Connolly were members of that committee and I acknowledge their contribution. In particular, I would like to say a word of gratitude to the Chair at the time, Deputy John McGuinness, and former TD, John Deasy. There will be others in the Chamber today who were members of the committee and did such sterling work.

The circumstances of Grace's case, which began in the 1980s, are heartbreaking and harrowing and without doubt had a devastating impact on her quality of life. It goes without saying that what Grace experienced was both unconscionable and utterly unacceptable.

I confirm that since this case came to light, significant changes have been made to help safeguard against circumstances like these ever occurring again. With respect to vulnerable children in the care of the State, the landscape concerning their treatment has radically changed. This includes the development of foster care standards; the creation of the Ombudsman for Children's Office; the establishment of HIQA; the establishment of Tusla, the Child and Family Agency; and the commencement of the Children First Act.

From an adult safeguarding perspective, since these events occurred the HSE has introduced a national policy for safeguarding vulnerable persons at risk of abuse, established a national safeguarding office and safeguarding protection teams, and most recently has undergone an independent review of its safeguarding policies and procedures which has led to the appointment of a HSE chief social worker for the first time. In addition, the Department of Health is currently developing an updated policy on adult safeguarding in the health and social care sector.

Following the publication two weeks ago of the commission's final substantive report, I intend to undertake an expert-driven, non-statutory safeguarding exercise. This will identify learnings from the commission's findings to inform present-day safeguarding policies and practices. Officials in the Department are currently seeking to identify an appropriate expert in the field of safeguarding to carry out this exercise. The seven people referenced in the commission's statement on Part X and-or their representatives will be invited to participate in this exercise, to share their lived experience, if they wish to do so. Safeguarding remains everybody's business. We must all work together, including Departments, the HSE, Tusla, all State agencies and the wider community, to be better and to do better to ensure there is a focus on continually enhancing safeguarding across all services and indeed society.

I sent a notification to the ward of court to alert Grace's representatives that I would publish the final substantive report. I also inquired about Grace's general well-being. In response, the general solicitor, as committee of Grace, advised that they have arranged for regular reviews of Grace's care in a residential home by independent social workers. I met yesterday the General Solicitor for Minors and Wards of Court, who confirmed that considered and extensive submissions were made on behalf of Grace to the commission of investigation. The general solicitor also highlighted potential learnings for investigations in the future into issues involving people with disabilities. In the meeting, the general solicitor indicated that Grace is extremely happy and is living a meaningful and fulfilled life, supported by a small team who are very committed to her well-being.

For the information of the House, I also received correspondence yesterday afternoon from the commission of investigation stating it had fully discharged its obligations under section 34 of the Commissions of Investigation Act 2004. This section outlines that before submitting the final or an interim report to the specified Minister, a commission shall send a draft of the report, or the relevant part of the draft report, to any person who is identified in or identifiable from the draft report. It also stipulates that the draft report must be accompanied by a notice from the commission specifying the time allowed for making submissions or requests. The commission further confirmed its view that all steps were duly taken in considering submissions received, including those made on behalf of Grace.

Is scéal uafásach an méid a tharla do Grace ach tá an-chuid foghlamtha againn ó thaobh cosaint daoine óga, go háirithe daoine míchumasacha agus leochaileacha. Bíonn gá ann i gcónaí daoine mar seo a chosaint agus aire ar leith a thabhairt dóibh. Anois tá Tusla, HIQA, an tOmbudsman do Leanaí agus rialacha nua agus tacaíochtaí ann chun an aire sin a chur i gcrích, ach tá orainn a bheith faireach an t-am an fad.

Throughout this very dark and distressing episode, the one beacon of hope has been the confirmation that Grace is now living an extremely happy life and is well cared for and well minded. It is my fervent hope that what Grace endured during those terrible years will never be forgotten and that she herself will continue to thrive and triumph.

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