Minister of State for Health Finian McGrath has defended the expanded terms of reference for the commission of investigation into the “Grace” case, saying that “everybody will get justice” and “all voices will be heard”.
Mr McGrath agreed to amend the original terms of reference of the inquiry after Opposition TDs insisted the proposed scope was too narrow and did not properly include the 46 other children who were in the care of the same foster family as Grace in the southeast.
Mr McGrath has said he plans to prioritise the case of Grace, the intellectually disabled young woman who is alleged to have been abused at the foster home for more than 20 years.
He said on Friday that “nobody is going to be left out” of the inquiry and asked that people trust his judgement as “someone who has been involved in the disability sector outside politics for 25 years”.
Asked by RTÉ's Morning Ireland programme why the initial report excluded an investigation into the 46 other people who lived in the foster home, Mr McGrath said there was never any exclusion.
He said the terms of reference sought to focus on Grace “because she was the one that was in the foster care for the longest period of time”.
“I always said that I would make sure that the other 46 people were investigated,” said Mr McGrath, adding that the expanded terms of reference had brought more clarity to the inquiry.
“My original focus was always on the allegations of abuse against Grace and I wanted to make sure that we didn’t spend five or six years on a broader tribunal spending millions of euros and nothing happened.
I’ve always said from the beginning, my focus was going to be on Grace... I never ever said that it would exclude anybody and every single aspect will be examined by the commission of inquiry.”
“I’m supporting the families and I give a commitment this morning and in the Dáil yesterday that nobody will be excluded.
“The most important thing is as a result of this process we have to ensure that accountability and action is taken for any wrongdoings done to these people.”
