Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 7 November 2018
10. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs further to Question No. 1165 of 7 September 2018, if the report of the national review panel, NRP, which commenced in 2016, on three cases of child abuse in a foster home in County Galway has been completed; if so, when it will be published; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45923/18]
View answerMy question is on the independent review set up in respect of the three children on whom appalling abuse was perpetuated. I will not go into the details in the Chamber, particularly given the young children in the Public Gallery. The Minister knows well the case I am talking about. It is the Tuam case. The review arose as a result of a "Prime Time" programme. I have asked repeatedly where is the review and why it has not been completed, given the lapse of time.
I thank the Deputy for her important question. The abuse suffered by these very brave young women while in foster care in the early 2000s is shocking, and I am very sorry that their lives were so disrupted and deeply impacted by it. The Deputy will appreciate that although the review was started in 2016, it was suspended during the criminal investigation and prosecution and only became active again when these processes were completed. I have been advised by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, that the NRP expects to finalise its report by the end of this month. It had been expected that the report would be completed by the end of October.
Part of the review process is to give all those who participated in the review, including the young people involved and Tusla staff, an opportunity to review and respond to the sections of the report which relate to them. When deciding whether to publish any NRP report, Tusla must consider the views of the young people involved and the potential impact publication may have on them and their families. The guidance governing the NRP states that it must operate independently of both Tusla and my Department. I therefore cannot instruct the NRP to bring forward the submission of the report. I am not in a position to interfere with the process. To do so would be inappropriate and would run the risk of compromising the independence of the NRP.
I am aware that the reviewers are leading experts in the areas of child protection, foster care and child sexual abuse. It is important that the work is independent, and can be clearly seen to be independent. The NRP must also be allowed the time it requires to complete its work properly, and for the Tusla staff involved to be afforded fair procedures. I very much hope that the report will be published, subject to the points I have outlined here, and most important, subject to the views of the young women involved.
I never asked the Minister to interfere in any way with an independent process. What horrifies me is that we are now in November 2018 and there is no sign of the report. Is there a problem with staff or are there insufficient resources? We have seen the report from Mr. Justice Charleton in October 2018 and that tribunal was set up in February 2017. We saw the number of documents and witnesses that went through his hands and he still has a report quicker than this review of a specific case of three young children under the age of ten who suffered repeated abuse.
I understand that all of the files were reviewed in April 2016, the terms of reference were set up in October 2017 and here we are in November this year and there has been no communication. Questions have to be asked about what is needed to complete this review. Are extra resources needed? What is the position? Those questions can be asked very efficiently without interfering with any independent mechanism. Clearly, those questions have to be asked. We all watched the programme. Deputy Rabbitte has asked questions, the leader of Sinn Féin has asked questions and I have asked questions. but the answers we are getting are unacceptable.
I appreciate Deputy Connolly's frustration and the questions that she is raising. I do. My understanding is that a certain portion of the delay, as the Deputy is aware, is because of the criminal investigation. The national review panel was requested to pause, effectively, and now it is back working. I do not understand that it has to do with resources or people. The NRP is working through whatever ways it decides itself with the expertise that it has. The Deputy is aware that we do have some appropriate professionals doing the work. My understanding is that it will be reporting at the end of this month.
At the end of the "Prime Time" programme, the girl who was brave enough to give her name said that she did not know why she came forward. We have to show that we are responding to these issues in a timely manner. It is stated on page 7 of the report that the Minister commissioned from the Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA, Report of the investigation into the management of allegations of child sexual abuse against adults of concern by the Child and Family Agency, Tusla, upon the direction of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, and which was presented in June this year: "it is imperative that Tusla ensures its own operational arrangements and cross-agency working practices do not allow criminal investigations to impede its statutory duty to safeguard children". That was a specific imperative that Tusla look at this and not be caught by criminal investigations. Notwithstanding all of that, this man was convicted in April of this year. The NRP started looking at this case in April 2016 and here we are now in November 2018.
I cannot accept it. It looks like the Minister has had some communication if she understands that there is no problem. What mechanism is there for this independent review panel to communicate with the Minister and the Government in respect of what is happening with time and resources? The Charleton tribunal, which was on a much larger scale, could report in less time and communicate with us regularly. The commission in respect of Tuam and the various mother and baby homes is also coming back to us regularly. Where is the mechanism to explain to us the delay?
On the issues the Deputy raised about Tusla and its practices, as I referred to, the national review panel is independent of Tusla as well. It is also independent of me. I again appreciate the questions raised by Deputy Connolly. I indicated that I understand that the report will be delivered within a short time. I do not have any more information than that because it is operating independently of my office. I accept the questions that the Deputy is asking but I do not have any more information and I do not have any power to bring it forward.
