Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)

Gabhaim buiochas leis an Cathaoirleach Gníomhach as ucht an ama agus an deis seo a thabhairt dom. I thank all the Deputies who have contributed to this debate on the final substantive report of the Farrelly commission. I intend to respond to as many of the issues raised as I can.

I must emphasise that the commission of investigation is an independent statutory commission, empowered to investigate matters of significant public concern, possessing robust investigative powers, and, by design and by law, exercising its functions and powers independently of Government, the Minister and the Department. This is as it should be. The very essence of an inquiry is that it should not be subject to political interference.

As the House will be aware and many Deputies referred to, I met the General Solicitor for Minors and Wards of Court, Grace's legal adviser, recently. The General solicitor has a number of functions in respect of vulnerable persons and acting under the direction of the President of the High Court, is responsible for the legal, personal and financial affairs of Grace. The General Solicitor confirmed that Grace is happy and is living a meaningful and fulfilled life. The General Solicitor further confirmed that Grace is well looked after and there is regular oversight of her care in her home, including by the President of the High Court. Regarding the engagement I had with the General Solicitor, she confirmed that the purpose of the meeting with her was to ensure that I, as Minister, was aware that she had made considered and extensive submissions on the draft report on behalf of Grace to the commission of investigation prior to publication of the final report. The General Solicitor highlighted potential learnings for investigations in the future into issues involving people with disabilities. The General Solicitor was clear that management of the submissions she made to the commission remains a matter for the commission itself.

Separately, I received correspondence from the commission of investigation, stating that it had fully discharged its obligations under section 34 of the Commissions of Investigation Act 2004. The commission further confirmed its view that all steps were duly taken in considering submissions received, including those made on behalf of Grace.

I note that several Deputies have called for a new model of inquiry into matters of significant public concern in the future. The Commissions of Investigation Act 2004 was introduced to provide a faster and more cost-efficient method of public inquiry following concerns about the length of public tribunals. I have asked officials in my Department to identify any possible learnings from the Farrelly commission regarding a future model for public inquiries, particularly for people with disabilities. For the information of the House, I have also arranged to meet with Caoilfhionn Gallagher, the special rapporteur on child protection, to discuss the concerns she raised following the publication of the Farrelly commission's report.

I acknowledge that many Deputies have expressed a desire for an executive summary of the Farrelly commission's final substantive report. I have indicated that an executive summary would have allowed greater accessibility for those impacted by the report and indeed for the public at large. The commissioner's view, however, is it would have been impracticable to provide an executive summary, having regard to the detailed factual background derived from the evidence contained in its three substantive reports. That is the view of the commission.

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. This involved 47 cases where other children had stayed with Mr. X and Mrs. X in their home as part of fostering or respite arrangements. The commission states in respect of part X of its terms of reference 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 service users. The commission's conclusions of its statement on part X indicate there is an absence of information in the possession of the commission identifying issues for further investigation with respect to matters to do with the role or conduct of public authorities in respect of seven cases identified, akin to the type 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 circumstances of Grace's case were truly unacceptable and rightly caused great concern when they came to public attention. I again pay tribute to the whistleblowers who 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 where she had been for 20 years. The Farrelly commission's final substantive report found there was an absence of oversight and monitoring of Grace in her placement by the South Eastern Health Board and the HSE, and that there was a fundamental failure of their duty of care to Grace in the circumstances.

I know Deputies have asked what accountability will follow on foot of the publication of this report. The report has been sent to all necessary State bodies, including the HSE and Tusla, which took over responsibility for child and family services from the HSE when it was established in 2014. The HSE and Tusla are considering the report in detail and will be taking any action required on foot of its findings. While it is never possible to say with 100% certainty that a safeguarding issue could not occur in any setting in the future, there has been a marked change in the way we as a country operate in respect of child safeguarding, both in terms of the way vulnerable children are looked after when in the care of the State and the manner in which vulnerable adults with disabilities are cared for in the range of services available to them.

With respect to vulnerable children in the care of the State, safeguarding has become a priority for these children, both from a legislative and policy perspective. We have seen the significant steps that have been taken, from the development of foster care standards to the creation of the Ombudsman for Children's Office and HIQA, the establishment of Tusla and the commencement of the Children First Act. Collectively, these steps represent a significant shift in the way we treat children who require the care of the State, who have a right to be protected by the State and rely on us to do so.

Several Deputies expressed concern about the care and monitoring of children who are being looked after in special emergency arrangements which are not registered for the purposes of inspection by HIQA. The use of special emergency arrangements has been necessary due to an unprecedented number of child protection referrals to Tusla and a surge in unaccompanied minors into the State from Ukraine and other non-EU countries. This has increased the demands on Tusla in securing available accommodation. There are currently 151 children in special emergency arrangements, of whom 104 are separated children seeking international protection. Tusla has assured me there is a vetting and inspection process for the providers of these special emergency arrangements. Staff in the special emergency arrangements must be Garda vetted before any child is placed there. Young people in special emergency arrangements are visited weekly by a social worker or delegated person to have their voice heard and check on the care being provided. Tusla is working with the providers of special emergency arrangements with a view to converting them into registered and regulated service providers, thus making them subject to independent HIQA inspections. Tusla has advised that four services have successfully obtained a registration in this manner to date, with a further 14 applications under assessment.

HIQA also has an important role regarding adult safeguarding. It inspects residential services and centre-based respite services. The development of a HSE adult safeguarding policy in 2014, which covers all services and settings, was an important development in adult safeguarding. A national safeguarding office was established in 2015 and safeguarding protection teams across all the HSE's community health organisations were introduced to provide community safeguarding responses as well as quality assurance, oversight and advisory support to the HSE and funded service providers on safeguarding matters.

The HSE published an independent review of its policies and procedures last year. This has led to the introduction of a chief social worker in the HSE for the first time, who is driving the implementation of the recommendations in this report. There has also been strong progress made regarding mandatory reporting of all suspected abuse of children, be it physical, sexual, emotional or neglect. I recognise, however, that many Deputies, organisations representing people with disabilities, and groups like the Irish Association of Social Workers have flagged the lack of mandatory reporting for the abuse of vulnerable adults. I agree we need robust adult safeguarding legislation with mandatory reporting to protect vulnerable adults. This falls within the remit of the Department of Health, which is currently developing a new policy on adult safeguarding in the health and social care sector to cover the full spectrum of healthcare and social care services. This new policy on adult safeguarding is being developed in consultation with my Department and I understand from the Department of Health that it will be brought before Government in the coming months. The preparation of related underpinning legislation will commence immediately thereafter.

The commencement of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 in 2023 enhances protections and safeguards around decision-making for vulnerable adults lacking capacity. The Law Reform Commission's report, a regulatory framework for adult safeguarding across all sectors, was published in 2024 and accompanied by draft legislation in the form of a civil adult safeguarding Bill and a criminal justice (adult safeguarding) Bill. The report sets out a range of recommendations for future Government consideration with regard to adult safeguarding. These recommendations include new duties and responsibilities to improve the accountability of those charged with looking after a specified category of at-risk adults, that is, vulnerable people who need to be protected.

Deputies also mentioned the importance of adult safeguarding in the context of other previous cases. The Brandon report into the sexual abuse of intellectually disabled residents at a HSE-run care facility was truly shocking. It outlined several recommendations, including the establishment of a strategic working group tasked with the development of a new vision for disability services in the area. A high-level report outlining the strategic working group's work to date and providing an independent and objective assessment of the safeguarding structures and procedures in place in disability services in community healthcare Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan and Sligo was requested from Colm Lehane, the independent chair , in 2024. I expect to receive a report on the matter in the coming weeks.

I appreciate my time has run out but I want to say I welcome the sincere and heartfelt contributions from everyone here and in wider society. I assure Deputies we are mindful of the job of work that needs to be done. Much has been achieved but I am under no illusions: an awful lot more needs to be done in this space. I conclude by saying Grace and all the other children, young people and families involved in this inquiry must be at the forefront of our thoughts at all times and must influence our actions today, tomorrow and beyond.

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