Anger at HSE delay of ‘Grace’ reports

Cabinet ministers have reacted with fury over HSE delays in publishing reports into the ‘Grace’ sex abuse scandal in a Waterford foster home.

A Government-backed Commission of Inquiry is being held up because the HSE is refusing to publish two previous reports into the case involving a woman — known as Grace — despite legal opinion which has cleared it to do so.

It is understood that Attorney General Marie Whelan has said there is no impediment to the publication of the 2012 Conal Devine Report and the 2015 Resilience Ireland report.

This opinion would support a similar finding by Conor Dignam SC in a recent report which set out the terms of reference of the Commission of Inquiry.

At the centre of this case are allegations of extreme sexual and physical abuse against disabled children and adults who passed through this foster home between 1992 and 2013.

At last Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting and in a subsequent meeting between Taoiseach Enda Kenny and the Independent Alliance TDs, the “unforgivable delays” by the HSE were raised as a matter of concern.

It is understood that HSE director general Tony O’Brien recently wrote to super junior minister for disabilities Finian McGrath, an Independent Alliance member, saying he cannot release two unpublished reports into the scandal it commissioned in 2012 and 2015 because of a garda request.

It is understood that the HSE refusal has delayed the announcement of the final terms of reference and the official naming of the commission’s chairperson, who has been chosen.

Confirming the discussions at Cabinet level, Independent Alliance leader and Transport Minister Shane Ross revealed the anger and concern at ministerial level over the delays.

“Finian McGrath has raised this vociferously in meetings with the Taoiseach and other ministers at Cabinet and in private meetings. He is very, very unhappy with the situation,” Mr Ross told the Irish Examiner.

“He has been very loud and clear and I share fully his concerns.”

In response to queries from this paper, Mr McGrath said he is demanding the immediate publication of the two reports.

“My position is crystal clear,” he said. “I want those two reports published now so I can get on with the commission as early as we can in 2017 as possible.”

Despite his unhappiness with the HSE, Mr McGrath himself has come in for some criticism from within Government as to the delays.

Fine Gael TD for Waterford John Deasy last night expressed his deep concern at the significant setbacks to the formal establishment of an inquiry, despite it being committed to by the previous Government on the eve of the general election.

“It took almost a year using any method possible to force an inquiry into this,” said Mr Deasy. “It has now taken Enda Kenny and his Cabinet another year to wise up to the fact that the HSE didn’t want this in the first place.

“It hasn’t been helped by the fact that Minister Finian McGrath has shown no ambition to see this concluded. Any expressions of frustration from Mr McGrath need to be taken with a huge pinch of salt.”

In response, the HSE said its position has not changed and that it was awaiting a response from the gardaí as to whether it can publish the two reports.

“We have followed Dignam’s recommendations and we have made contact with the gardaí,” said a HSE spokesman. “We are awaiting their response. This is not a simple matter. We have to be assured that publishing the reports could affect ongoing investigations.”

Last month, following several lengthy delays, the 309-page report by Mr Dignam was published.

Mr Dignam made a series of findings, including:

• The procedures and processes followed by the HSE when commissioning the reports did not meet its own procurement rules;
• These procedures were not adequate to ensure the independence of those conducting the reviews;
• 40 families of vulnerable children and teenagers placed in the foster home had reviews of their cases delayed by almost four years.