Potential “learnings” in the aftermath of the Farrelly commission of investigation into the ‘Grace’ case were highlighted to Minister for Children and Disability Norma Foley on Wednesday by the General Solicitor for Minors and Wards of Court.
Marie-Claire Butler had sought a meeting with the Minister, which took place at Leinster House, after her unusual intervention into ongoing controversy about the report on the “Grace” case.
In a statement following Wednesday’s meeting, attended by Minister Foley, Ms Butler and Ms Butler’s legal adviser, the Department of Children said: “The General Solicitor confirmed to the Minister that the purpose of the meeting was to ensure the Minister was aware that she had made considered and extensive submissions on the draft report on behalf of Grace to the Commission of Investigation before publication of the final report.
“The General Solicitor highlighted potential learnings for investigations in the future into issues involving people with disabilities.”
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Ms Butler confirmed Grace’s legal representation at the commission was paid for by the relevant Government departments and not taken from her legal settlement with the HSE.
“The General Solicitor referenced the settlement made by the HSE in open court in relation to Grace, as was reported on at the time by the media.
“The General Solicitor was clear that management of the submissions it made to the Commission remains a matter for the Commission itself.”
Ms Butler said Grace was “happy and is living a meaningful and fulfilled life. She is well looked after and there is regular oversight of her care in her home, including by the President of the High Court,” said the statement.
The Commission of Investigation, chaired by senior counsel Marjorie Farrelly, published its report on the case of Grace earlier this month – eight years after being engaged by the Department of Health to conduct it.
The disability portfolio transferred to the Department of Children last year.
“Grace”, as the report calls her, is a severely intellectually disabled woman who is non-verbal. She was left in an unvetted “foster” home when she was a child and remained there for 20 years despite credible allegations of sexual and physical abuse by parents of other children who spent time in the home.
She was removed in 2009 and now, aged 46, lives in a care facility.
The almost 2,000-page report from the Farrelly commission, in six volumes, has been described as “impenetrable”. It has no executive summary, index or unified pagination.
It found no evidence Grace suffered abuse but found she experienced neglect and financial mismanagement.
Derval McDonagh, chief executive of Inclusion Ireland, welcomed the meeting between Ms Butler and the Minister and called for as much detail of it, including planned next steps, to be publicised as much as was legally possible.
The fallout from Grace’s case and the Farrelly report “must mark a moment of reckoning” for the Government’s treatment of as to how it treats vulnerable citizens and those who survive abuse and neglect, said Ms McDonagh.
She said that “trust has to be rebuilt” with survivors, their caregivers and their families.
Noting the terms of reference establishing the Farrelly commission did not specify that Grace’s views should be reflected in its final report, she said: “It beggars belief that a process would be designed without ensuring the voice of the survivor at its centre.
“We continuously say a person is non-speaking, but that does not mean they are non-communicating.”
She said every person has the capacity to communicate but “as a society, we have yet to set up the structures to capture that”.
A spokesman for the Farrelly commission said the commission will not be responding to press queries in relation to its reports.
