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THE MINISTER FOR Children has cast doubt over the date by which the report into the ‘Grace’ case will be made public.
When asked by The Journal if the report will be made public this month, Children’s Minister Norma Foley said “it’s my intention to publish it as quickly as I possibly can”, but she failed to confirm the date previously put forward by her predecessor.
The report, it should be noted, is now 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 former Minister for Children Roderic O’Gorman in July 2024.
At the time, he confirmed the details of the report would be made public on 12 December 2024 – however, a four-month extension was then granted to the inquiry.
The department said in a statement last year that in order for the new government to consider the matters in the report, an extension to the Commission’s timeframe was pushed out to 12 April 2025.
When the commission was established, a deadline for the inquiry to report back was set for May 2019.
Foley confirmed to The Journal that since taking office as the new minister, she has met with Commissioner Marjorie Farrelly about the inquiry.
As she is a relatively new minister in the department, Foley said she wanted to meet with her in relation to the report.
The minister said it was important to her to get “as much clarity and understanding of what’s involved”.
Foley said she will “absolutely” move forward with the publication of the inquiry report “as quickly as possible”.
When asked what she thinks is a more realistic timeline for publication, the minister said:
“It will be shorter rather than longer. It will be in the shortest time space that I have available to me. I absolutely mean that, but I wanted a very clear understanding myself first.”
The minister said she understands there is frustration over the significant delays in seeing this commission of inquiry come to a conclusion, but added that she wants to do the inquiry “justice”.
“It’s only now just coming to my hands… and it’s my intention to publish it as quickly as I possibly can,” said Foley.
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 and now Leas Ceann Comhairle, John McGuinness, said those who knew what was happening to ‘Grace’ should be “chased down” and held accountable.
Aside from the final report, the commission also provided a statement concerning Part X of the terms of reference, which has been 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.
Former Children’s Minister Roderic O’Gorman, along with former Minister of State for Disabilities Anne Rabbitte, previously voiced their unhappiness with the continuous delays.
Prior to the establishment of the inquiry, a report into the Grace scandal by senior counsel Conor Dignam was published in 2016. It recommended that an expeditious investigation was in the interests of Grace and the other service users.
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