Rose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for agreeing to my request to come before the Seanad today. I appreciate it and that she is busy. I also appreciate the openness and the manner in which she has endeavoured to explain, in a very open way, exactly what has happened from her perspective. The Minister's honesty is refreshing, in the sense of all that has been happening and continues to happen over the hours.

I send my commendations to Sergeant Maurice McCabe and to the McCabe family. I thank them for the service they have done for all of us in enduring the State-sponsored torture of them over the past ten years. They certainly have done us all a favour and we owe them a lot. It is clear that there was error upon error and failure upon failure with regard to child protection and Tusla's handling of the file relating to the allegations made against Sergeant McCabe. On the HSE counsellor's involvement, the reason the counsellor was in contact with the Garda and who contacted whom is all contrary to the Children First protocol. How could a file of such seriousness be treated so casually as to allow copying and pasting? I do not believe it. I have worked in offices all my life in different situations and that does not happen. It stretches the imagination.