Pauline Tully (Sinn Fein)

What happened to Grace is forever unforgivable. It is unconscionable to know what she went through. She was a young girl of ten or 11 years of age with an intellectual disability and non-verbal who was put into a place - I would not even call it a home - that was not properly assessed before she went into it. She was left there for a period of six years during which there was not one visit by a social worker to see whether she was okay, whether her needs were being met or whether she was being subjected to abuse or neglect in any form. For six years, she was really forgotten about despite concerns being raised by the Brothers of Charity in 1991 about other children in that same house. She still was not removed in 1996 even though there were allegations of sexual abuse against Mr. X. In fact, it was sanctioned for her to be removed and, very disturbingly, this was overruled by the then Minister for Health.

She was a child and developed into a woman. She was left there for 20 years. God knows what she endured in that time. Again, it was only due to another brave whistleblower, who in 2007 raised concerns about her well-being, that it was investigated, and it still took two years for her to be moved. I commend the whistleblower and, indeed, whistleblowers everywhere. It is not made easy for them in any shape or form. Many people see things happening and are afraid to report them because of the management structure within these places. I am glad that someone with a conscience came forward and stepped up.

The commission of investigation took eight years and cost almost €14 million, and the findings were of neglect and financial abuse. However, while that happened and there were findings, I do not feel that the physical abuse and sexual abuse were properly investigated. There were 47 other children in the same house at different times. I saw a “Prime Time” interview with a sister of one of those children.From what she said at the time, I think there was no doubt that there was sexual abuse in that house. Whether Grace was subjected to it, we will unfortunately never know because she is non-verbal but she is extremely vulnerable and was not protected.

The interviews and information provided by the whistleblowers and Grace's legal team were not included in the commission of investigation. It cost a lot of money and took a lot of time, yet the findings are lukewarm. How many children are currently in similar situations? The Children's Residential and Aftercare Voluntary Association said there has been an increase in unregistered and uninspected for-profit providers in the care system. There is a focus on profit and not care.

We have heard a number of different allegations and investigations into residential settings, some of them nursing homes and others residential settings for people with disabilities, over the past few years. The management structures are letting people down. There is a focus on making profit and there are not enough staff to monitor what is going on. Proper management systems have not been put in place.

We need safeguarding legislation and mandatory reporting. When I was a teacher, I had to report suspected abuse and there was a chain of command. I knew exactly who in the school to report that to. If I heard or strongly suspected something, I knew what to do with that information and, therefore, it could be investigated further and, it is to be hoped, resolved. The failings in this case include Mr. and Mrs X, who were guilty. However, the State is complicit in neglect and abuse by placing Grace and any other children in the home without the proper assessment and monitoring.

I continue to have concerns because I am contacted regularly by the parents of young adults. Very frequently, those young adults may be autistic or have an intellectual disability, or both, and are often non-verbal. They are in residential settings where parents cannot get answers as to why their loved ones have a bruise, cut, are not being cared for properly or there are very few activities. I am concerned about a lot of issues.

I commend the many foster families and social workers on the great work they do, but we do not have enough social workers. There are 250 children without a social worker. We need to train more. It is a tough job. In order for social workers to stay in that job and continue providing supports to children, they need to be supported. If they have too many children to look after, everybody suffers. I am delighted that Grace is living a good life now, is properly cared for and is happy in her home.