Former TD Finian McGrath, who was minister for disabilities when the Farrelly Commission examining the 'Grace' foster home abuse case was launched, has said its chair should answer questions over its findings.
The Farrelly commission, chaired by senior counsel Marjorie Farrelly, published its final report into the ‘Grace’ case on Tuesday, eight years after the commission began.
In that time, it has cost €13.6m, including €2.5m in legal fees, €11m in administrative costs, and an annual salary to Ms Farrelly of €172,000 based on the annual High Court judge salary in 2017 when the commission began.
The commission was asked to investigate claims of serious sexual and physical abuse in one foster home in the south east, and why a non-verbal woman with severe intellectual and physical disabilities - given the pseudonym Grace - was placed at the home for 20 years and not removed when 47 separate placements were ended in the mid-1990s.
While saying it cannot establish evidence of physical and sexual abuse, the commission said there was neglect, financial abuse, and an absence of oversight in Grace's placement.
It also said that it would not continue to phase two of the investigation, which was to focus on the experiences of 47 other children placed at the foster home during the same period.
In a statement to RTÉ News this evening, former Independent TD and disabilities minister Finian McGrath said he believed the chair of the commission should answer questions over her findings.
He said: "The chairperson of the commission should come out and answer questions on the report.
"Why was a person with an intellectual disability left in a place of serious neglect, unvetted, and with financial mismanagement?
"Why no accountability from staff involved?
"Grace, the families, the whistleblowers and the public need answers."
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Earlier, a second whistleblower in the 'Grace' case has spoken about her concerns over the Farrelly Commission's report.
The woman, who was given the pseudonym 'Paula' to protect her identity, questioned how the report was carried out, and said Grace was left at the home due to decisions taken by individual officials working in the health service.
On Wednesday, whistleblower Iain Smith had raised his own concerns over the commission into the case.
That view has now been supported by Paula, who said the focus needs to be on who decided to leave Grace at the home.
Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Claire Byrne, she confirmed she made the first protected disclosure about the situation in 2009.
Paula said she had "long expected" the report would be "very weak" and "diluted", but cannot understand how what happened could be "so sanitised".
Paula said while there is a public narrative that "system failures" caused the situation, the system did not fail Grace.
Instead, she said there are "very serious findings" in relation to the HSE's failure to make Grace a ward of court, and attempts to convince Paula to withdraw her ward of court application in 2009.
The whistleblower said over a number of years people in the HSE chose to leave Grace at the home, and that blaming the system "suits the people who failed Grace".
Read more: Legal costs of €2.5m awarded to 'Grace' inquiry witnesses
