HSE may be forced to release Grace reports

The Government is unlikely to accept a partial publication of two HSE reports into the Grace foster abuse scandal and may attempt to force their immediate and full release if they are not made public this week.

Pressure is building on the HSE to publish the reports ahead of a coalition-imposed deadline of Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the whistleblower who first highlighted the case has said the reports must be made public.

In response to the state-commissioned Conor Dignam report late last month, Disabilities Minister Finian McGrath said he was giving the HSE until this Wednesday to release its own inquiries into what happened.

While the HSE-commissioned reports — by Conal Devine Associates and Resilience Ireland — have been completed since 2012 and 2014, the HSE has repeatedly said gardaí have warned that publication may impact on future criminal cases.

However, the Dignam Report concluded publication will not “fatally” wound any criminal cases, a view that led Mr McGrath to impose this week’s deadline.

A senior government figure said at the weekend the Coalition will “not accept” any refusal to release the documents or any partial publication and will attempt to force their release if the matter is not resolved.

The draft terms of reference for the now-imminent state inquiry into the Grace foster home abuse are due to go before cabinet in two weeks’ time.

Mr McGrath and attorney general Máire Whelan met to discuss the terms last Thursday and are due to meet again this week.

While allowing a wider-ranging inquiry, the terms are likely to seek an interim report within months, specifically on what happened to a woman given the pseudonym Grace, who, for still unknown reasons, remained at the home from 1989 to 2009, despite the fact that all placements at the home were meant to end in 1995 due to serious abuse concerns.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, the whistleblower who first raised the concerns said an interim report would be welcome and called on the HSE to adhere to this Wednesday’s deadline to release both unpublished reports.

Meanwhile, it has emerged the child and family agency Tusla found substance to at least 33 allegations of abuse by foster carers in the past 15 months.

Figures provided by Tusla show 24 abuse allegations nationwide last year were “found to have substance”, while in the first quarter of this year, there were another nine allegations — including three in Cork alone.