A social worker who wrote a letter to garda whistleblower Sergeant Maurice McCabe in December 2015 containing false allegations of sexual abuse has denied she was “a puppet of the gardaí”.

Nobody thought it would be a good idea to let Sergeant Maurice McCabe know what had been done to him behind closed doors, writes Michael Clifford.

Garda whistleblower, Sergeant Maurice McCabe, has expressed concern at plans by senior members of the force to unite behind one legal team at the tribunal investigating an alleged smear campaign against him.

HSE claims relating to the ‘Grace’ foster abuse scandal are countered by the whistleblower at the centre of the saga

Under Dáil privilege, Fine Gael TD John Deasy claimed senior HSE and Tusla officials covered up, and continue to cover up, the Grace foster abuse scandal. His full speech is published below

The mother of a second girl repeatedly raped in the foster home at the centre of the Grace case has said her daughter must be included in the Commission of Inquiry into the scandal announced yesterday.

A final vote on the terms of reference for the 'Grace' inquiry has been deferred until tomorrow.

The head of HSE disability services said he understands why the public suspects the health authority tried to cover up in the ‘Grace’ scandal.

The Government is set to announce the chair of the long-awaited commission of investigation into the Grace foster home abuse scandal next Tuesday, 13 months after the State inquiry was first promised.

Today’s publication of the Conal Devine and Resilience Ireland reports after years of repeated legal blockages is a vital step towards finding out who is responsible for what happened to Grace and other vulnerable children who were in State care.

The HSE has called on the Government’s most senior legal official to provide it with evidence showing why it must publish two detailed reports into the Grace foster abuse scandal, amid an ongoing stand-off between the State bodies.

The HSE has again contacted senior gardaí for clarity on whether it can publish two reports into allegations of serious sexual and physical abuse at a partially State-funded foster home.

We have a shameful history in how we deal with those who are brave enough to speak out against abuses of power — and this must change, says Brendan Howlin

We thought we had seen it all with Garda bosses’ treatment of whistleblowers. But then came the ‘Grace’ scandal and the appalling way the HSE treated those who spoke out, says Political Editor Daniel McConnell

The Minister for Disabilities Finian McGrath has apologised to the woman at the centre of a report into allegations of abuse at a foster home.

Senior officials in the HSE and State Child and Family Agency Tusla linked to the ‘Grace’ foster abuse scandal should temporarily step down pending the outcome of the imminent State inquiry into the controversy, it has been claimed.

A long-delayed state inquiry into the ‘Grace’ foster abuse scandal is set to begin within weeks after an independent report into the controversy was finally published last night.

The families of those involved in the ‘Grace’ sexual abuse case have reacted angrily to news that the HSE has failed to co-operate properly with a state investigation.

The barrister charged with compiling a report into allegations of sexual abuse against a disabled woman, ‘Grace’, in a Waterford foster home expressed “serious concerns” about the HSE’s co-operation with his report.

Six months after plans were announced to set up a State inquiry into the ‘Grace’ abuse scandal, the case still faces delays, writes Political Reporter Fiachra Ó Cionnaith

Plans to set up a state inquiry into alleged sexual abuse at a HSE-supported foster home have been delayed yet again, after the author of an independent report asked for more time to finish his work.

Terms of reference for a commission of investigation into alleged sexual abuse of an intellectually disabled girl in a foster home are to be approved by Cabinet this week.

A long-awaited independent report to decide on whether a state commission of inquiry is needed due to the alleged cover-up of serious foster care abuse in the South-East is expected to be given to Government before the weekend.

The Minister for Disabilities has promised to set up a Commission of Investigation into the care of people with disabilities in residential settings.

Former health minister Leo Varadkar knew of widescale foster care abuses in the south east more than a year and a half ago, but did not make the issue public because of strict whistle-blower laws.

The Social Protection Minister has said that a document handed to him in his previous portfolio outlining issues with care services for the intellectually disabled was "most certainly followed up on".

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has been called upon to intervene directly to explain the “shocking” delay to a commission of investigation into the sexual abuse at a foster home in Waterford.

The provisional terms of reference for an imminent State inquiry into the ‘Grace’ foster home abuse scandal are set to be given to Disabilities Minister Finian McGrath this week.

Senior child protection staff in the ‘Grace’ foster home sex abuse scandal have yet to be risk assessed or moved from their positions because legal red tape is preventing the HSE from “inappropriately” identifying them.

Decades of sexual abuse of a woman with severe intellectual disabilities who lived in foster care is alleged to have been covered up. An independent review is set to conclude in the coming days, paving the way for a State investigation.

Senior health officials who were in place when allegations of savage abuse against disabled children were first raised remain at their posts in the health service, it emerged last night.

Lawyers providing expert advice to the Oireachtas banking inquiry have been charging the inquiry a whopping €264 per hour.

The High Court has finished hearing legal submissions in the case of a pregnant woman who is on life support against the wishes of her family.

A young senior counsel, Conor Dignam, has been given the most important legal assignment of his career — representing the baby whose heart continues to beat in the brain-dead body of its mother in a country hospital.

THE final report into the Leas Cross nursing home scandal has been delayed for the third time in less than a year due to the “complexity and volume” of the cases involved.

A COUPLE who own a Co Wicklow nursing home from which an elderly woman went missing almost two years ago have pleaded guilty to not maintaining proper care of their patients arising out of the incident.