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'Some matters still not investigated': Report finds HSE were slow to examine foster home abuse claims

The HSE issued a statement today apologising to Grace and her family and welcomed the report.

A REPORT INTO claims of sexual abuse at a foster home in the south-east has revealed that the HSE failed to investigate concerns fully.

Last year RTÉ‘s This Week revealed the story of Grace – 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 abuse allegations.

In 1995 on the back of these claims, 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.

The scandal resulted in the HSE Director General Tony O’Brien apologising to the 47 families – including Grace’s – who were in the care of the home.

The report

The report, entitled ‘Review of Certain Matters Relating to a Disability in the South East’, details the measures taken by members of the foster care home, and then the following actions by the HSE. The identities of those involved have been protected.

In his assessment of the HSE’s reactions to the sexual abuse allegations, Conor Dignam concluded that the HSE had failed to investigate properly, and there were still aspects that had not been examined fully:

“These are all allegations of the most serious nature and it seems to me that they should have been required to have been inquired into fully and expeditiously in the interests of Grace, all of those other service users, the relationship between the HSE and the service provider and the persons against whom allegations were implicitly or expressly made.

Some of these matters have still not been inquired into.

“Some, such as the task of identifying any other persons who may have been placed with the former foster family, have now been looked into by Resilience Ireland, but the failure by the HSE to ensure that there could be no doubt but that this was part of the Devine Inquiry means that there was a delay of almost four years in doing so.”

Upon the publishing of the report, the HSE issued a statement saying they wished “again to apologise to Grace and her family for the failings identified and for the poor care received by those placed with the foster family”.

Recommendations

The report has set out eight recommendations relating specifically to the HSE, which have now been referred to the HSE for a response within two weeks on how they are being or will be addressed.

Among these, the report puts a clear emphasis on the need for independent reviews:

Save in exceptional circumstances, reviews or inquiries in relation to acts or omissions of the HSE in a particular area or region, should not be conducted by a team involving any individual who has had a senior management role in the relevant HSE area or region.

The full 300-page report can be read here.

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13 Comments
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    Mute Seamus Ryan
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    Nov 1st 2016, 11:39 PM

    Report after report after report. The HSE then apologise and it all goes away. This country is a joke when it comes to people in authority taking responsibility for wrongs done under their control.

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    Mute LITTLEONE
    Favourite LITTLEONE
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    Nov 1st 2016, 10:54 PM

    Something seriously wrong with all this? Why the slowness from her? Why are the government delaying. Nine months after probe promised into alleged foster care abuse – still no inquiry
    Something or someone is deliberately holding it up.
    http://www.thejournal.ie/grace-foster-care-3036869-Oct2016/

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    Mute LITTLEONE
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    Nov 1st 2016, 10:55 PM

    : Something seriously wrong with all this? Why the slowness from hse?

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    Mute Poole Hyde
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    Nov 2nd 2016, 1:14 AM
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    Mute Shane Griffin
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    Nov 1st 2016, 11:56 PM

    This could easily happen today, and the government could act tomorrow to ensure it doesn’t to save these deplorable outcomes.

    Two weeks ago HIQA released a report into foster care services in the Midlands; 1) children placed with unapproved and with those refused approval as foster parents 2) placements not visited 3) no link workers for carers cutting a long south short not one single standard inspected (this was HIQA’S 3rd inspection of this area) was met and 6 were marked as “Significant Risk”.

    This is 2016 our new agency to protect our vulnerable, the agency who’s CEO told parents to own their problem not even a week ago, the same agency that rebranded from the HSE, who rebranded from the Health Boards, the same old horse, different jockeys, going rojnd and round the same old track, decade after decade!

    History will tell us that these incident are rarely isolated, 166 members of Dáil Éireann know this also! When will we actually do right by our vulnerable? and when we let him down just admit it and learn? How many inquiries must we have, pages of recommendations, we fail to implement these. How Irish is our double standard; when birth parents fail their children their kids are taken into care and rightfully so most times, but when the state as their parents (the state been an informed group of highly trained and skilled responsible adults) fail, where is the accountability here?

    We are so reactive as apposed to proactive when it comes to our vulnerable, cherish all children equality? Rip the book up and rewrite it, we have tried and failed to fix this broken system, at the expense of our vulnerable children and young adults.

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    Mute David Harries
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    Nov 2nd 2016, 12:03 AM

    I hear nothing mentioned with regards to legal action . Surely some one has to be charged with the abuse (rape) this is an absolute sham Every week we read and comment on how terrible things are all over the world and in the bowels of darkest Africa they marry 13 year olds (example ) wake up and smell the roses it’s happening on our doorstep and nothing is ever done about it.we read we comment and then get on with our lives.my heart goes out to the victims and my anger and discust goes out to all the bas….. involved not only the sick abusers but the HSE Bas….. who should be jailed I hope when they next open their pay slips they they have the decency to give the money back or donate it to the victims . Then hand in their notices.We all know that won’t be happening.

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    Mute john
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    Nov 2nd 2016, 4:24 AM

    Looked the HSE is a public sector disaster they employe lay-abouts who eventually become manager’s who in turn couldn’t care less what whey the system is run once they get cousin Johnny or brother-in-law willie a job in with them so the cycle of wasters can continue for decades. Accountability needs to happen and people need to lose there jobs before they’ll be change in the public sector I’d like to see statistics on how many people lost there jobs for non-performance in the public sector in the past five years i bet you wouldn’t get one.

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    Mute David Harries
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    Nov 2nd 2016, 9:47 AM

    Same as that John

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    Mute fintolini
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    Nov 2nd 2016, 6:03 AM

    and they want to take 200 minors from “the jungle” in Calais and use the foster care system… really ??

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    Mute Seth Cheffetz
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    Nov 2nd 2016, 6:14 AM

    I guess an apology is easier and cheaper than doing their job.

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    Mute O-'Seán #IRExit
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    Nov 2nd 2016, 4:32 AM

    and in other news, this was a Catholic country. these inquests are always the same

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    Mute Eyepopper
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    Nov 2nd 2016, 1:09 AM

    Lessons will be learned.

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    Mute Joe Burns
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    Nov 2nd 2016, 11:05 AM

    Tusla (HSE) operate with a level of secrecy that the KGB, Stasi and even the vatican would be envious of. They investigate themselves and never find themselves guilty of wrongdoing. I cite as an example 196 children dying in State “Care” in a decade from 2000 to 2009, and 26 a year since, and not one single social worker being held accountable. It doesn’t help that these cases are investigated by people who have a vested interest in the Child Abuse Industry and have never uttered a harsh word against the system.

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