The failure to proceed to phase two of the Farrelly Commission investigation into the \u2018Grace\u2019 case, which would examine allegations of abuse of other residents in her foster family, cannot be defended and must be examined in Oireachtas hearings, according to Social Democrats TD Liam Quaide.<\/p>\n
Deputy Quaide, who is the party\u2019s disability spokesperson, said:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe findings of the Farrelly Commission report leave us with more questions than answers. How, after a \u20ac13 million investigation, which was conducted over an eight year period, do we now know little more than we did before it began?<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is extremely difficult to have faith in this process given the glaring issues of accessibility with the report on its publication.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe lack of an executive summary for a 2,000-page report is a remarkable omission and poses a significant obstacle to analysing its findings in a timely fashion.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs with the Brandon Report into the abuse of disabled people in a HSE residential setting, it was released on the second day of an Oireachtas recess.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe refusal of the Commission to engage with families in advance of the report\u2019s publication was highly insensitive, an approach which must never be repeated.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe conflict between the report\u2019s findings and previous findings in regard to the alleged emotional, physical and sexual abuse of \u2018Grace\u2019 is deeply concerning and will need to be examined in depth through Oireachtas hearings.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat has been established through all of the testimony to date points to a litany of grave failings of a vulnerable citizen by the HSE and the State: the continued placement of \u2018Grace\u2019 by the HSE in a foster home after the Brothers of Charity had decided to stop referring children due to concerns about her foster family; the lack of any follow-up with \u2018Grace\u2019 by a social worker for six years of her residency; and the failure to remove \u2018Grace\u2019 from the foster placement in 1995 after allegations of sexual abuse were made by a former resident and shared by the British authorities.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe failure of successive governments to advance adult safeguarding legislation and mandatory reporting means that vulnerable citizens remain at risk of mistreatment and exploitation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe urgency of this legislation has been highlighted by advocacy groups after each previous revelation of abuse involving vulnerable adults, including the Emily and Brandon cases, but has not been acted on.<\/p>\n
\u201cSerious questions remain about the treatment of whistleblowers in this tragic case, and the lack of accountability for HSE management who were made aware of very serious and credible risks of abuse and neglect in Grace\u2019s foster home.\u201d<\/p>\n
April 16th, 2025<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The failure to proceed to phase two of the Farrelly Commission investigation into the \u2018Grace\u2019 case, which would examine allegations of abuse of other residents in her foster family, cannot be defended and must be examined in Oireachtas hearings, according to Social Democrats TD Liam Quaide. Deputy Quaide, who is the party\u2019s disability spokesperson, said: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[499,11,652,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-disability","category-health","category-liam-quaide","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n