Sarah O'Reilly (Aontú)

I thank the Minister for coming in. I commend her colleague, Deputy John McGuinness, on all the brilliant detective work he has done over the years on this issue and on his determination to seek justice for Grace. I am gutted that justice has not been served. In this country we are very good at looking back at historical abuse but one area the State has failed to examine is abuse in the foster care system, and indeed abuse in the State care system at present.

Last week I raised the issue of the death rate among children in State care. Over the past ten years, 235 children in or known to State care have died. They died under the watch of Tusla. Ten of them were murdered and 51 died by suicide or drug overdose. Why is no political party other than Aontú raising this issue? I acknowledge other Independent Senators and TDs are raising it.

Tomorrow we will debate mother and baby homes and survivors of institutional abuse. The mother and baby homes redress scheme has abandoned anyone who spent less than six months in a mother and baby home and they will not get any redress. This is relevant to this debate because Grace was born in a mother and baby home and is one such person. The commission was given a budget of over €13 million and has taken nearly a decade to report. The final report was launched in the middle of the Dáil holidays. I think this was done on purpose to avoid scrutiny.

There is still no clarity on the experience of the 47 other children fostered by the family which fostered Grace. Were they abused? Did the commission interview them? The fact the testimony submitted by Grace's lawyers to the commission was not referenced in the report is a scandal. Grace is non-verbal and could not speak up for herself, and then testimony given by her legal representatives was disregarded by the commission. This is cruel and inhumane. It should not have been allowed to happen.

I take issue with the way the commission treated whistleblowers in this case. It was shocking. There is no justice and no answers. Thirteen million euro for what? I ask the Minister and Government to call the commission before the Oireachtas to answer questions on its deeply flawed report.