THE COMMISSION OF inquiry into the case of ‘Grace’ has been given another extension, meaning the publication date of the final report will now be six years overdue.
The Grace case concerns a young woman with profound intellectual disabilities who was left in a foster home in the Waterford area for almost 20 years despite a succession of sexual and physical abuse allegations.
The long-awaited final report was delivered to the Minister for Children Roderic O’Gorman in July.
The minister confirmed previously that details of the report would be made public today, on 12 December – however, it has now been confirmed that a four month extension has now been granted to the inquiry.
When the commission was established, a deadline for the inquiry to report back was May 2019. The new date for the final report publication is now 12 April 2025, some six years after the original deadline.
A statement from the department said the Farrelly Commission’s report delivered to the minister in July is the final substantive report on the first phase of the investigation, as required by the terms of reference.
The commission also provided a statement concerning Part X of the terms of reference, which were referred to the Attorney General for legal advice.
This section of the terms of reference relates to whether the facts and information gathered in the course of the inquiry warrants scope for any further investigations which the commission could undertake in the public interest.
The department said on this matter, that consultation is ongoing “to finalise matters for future government consideration”.
In 1995, on the back of claims that Grace suffered abuse in her foster home, the South Eastern Health Board decided not to place any further people in the home.
However, a decision to remove Grace was overturned in 1996.
As a result she stayed in the home until a whistleblower’s complaint in 2009.
One of two interim reports into the case – running to a total of about 800 pages - said the “evidence on the rationale for the decision was weak and confused”.
The controversy resulted in the then-HSE Director General Tony O’Brien apologising to the 47 families – including Grace’s – who were in the care of the home.
Speaking in the Dáil in 2021, Fianna Fáil TD John McGuinness said those who knew what was happening to ‘Grace’ should be “chased down” and held accountable.
McGuinness told The Journal today that the delays in publishing the report’s findings is “outrageous and farcical”.
He said ‘Grace’ is a non-verbal, vulnerable woman who suffered serious sexual abuse, adding that the State “has a lot to answer for”.
McGuinness said the matter has been “dragged out” and it is not serving Grace and the 47 others who were in that foster home.
McGuinness said that the public are rightly outraged about the injustices that women and vulnerable people have suffered by the state, but added that this is a real-time case, whereby there is a “veil of secrecy over what happened to this woman”.
“The public interest is not being served,” he said, stating that the public should be “outraged” at what is taking place.
While it has been six years since the inquiry began, the period of time when this occurred is a lot longer and no clarity has been given as to what actions have been taken to ensure what happened never happens again, he added.
“How long must we wait to find out the truth,” asked McGuinness.
In the last year, O’Gorman and the junior minister for disabilities at the time, told The Journal about their frustrations with the continuing delays with the commission’s report. The Taoiseach also voiced his concerns at the commission in taking so long to deliver its final report.
While the minister has received the report, the current delay now relates to the Office of the Attorney General and delays in the final report being put into the public domain.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say