The near 2,000-page €13 million investigation into the 'Grace' foster home abuse case has said it cannot establish that marks and bruises on her were the result of serious physical or sexual abuse.
The Grace case phase of the Farrelly Commission, which has concluded, specifically focuses on concerns over how a non-verbal woman with severe intellectual and physical disabilities - given the pseudonym Grace - was placed in a home between 1989 and 2009.
Minister for Children, Disability and Equality Norma Foley said that at the heart of the report into the foster case is the "story of Grace".
The State investigation into the case has made findings of neglect in her care, dental neglect, financial "mismanagement or abuse", and an absence of oversight and monitoring from officials meant to ensure her safety.
The Farrelly Commission has concluded that:
- It is not satisfied the evidence was such to establish that marks or bruises sustained by Grace were due to her being subjected to physical abuse
- The evidence did not establish that Grace had been subjected to sexual abuse over the years she lived with the foster family
- The Commission is satisfied there was neglect in the standard of care provided to Grace, in relation to her general care, dental care and personal hygiene
- It has also said there was a level of financial mismanagement or abuse in relation to Grace's disability allowance
- There was an "absence of oversight and monitoring of Grace in her placement"
It separately concluded that a planned second phase of investigation into the placement of 47 other children at the home should not now go ahead.
Read more:
Live: Updates as they happen'
'Grace' case report: Many children arguably still falling through cracks
Grace' report comes after years of concerns and scrutiny
Report: Volumes 1, 2 | Volumes 3, 4, 5, 6
It's important we have an understanding of Grace - minister
Speaking following its publication, Minister Foley said: "Importantly, at the heart of the report is the story of Grace, the pseudonym chosen to protect the identity and privacy of the young woman who lived with the foster family.
"We do not know her name and that is as it should be.
"But I do think it is important that we have an understanding of the person that she is, as detailed in the report."
She added: "Grace's mother, who was aged 17, had moved to a Mother and Baby Home in Cork approximately two months prior to her daughter's birth.
"Grace herself was born 9.30am on 24 November 1978, weighing six pounds and 74 ounces.
"The Commission described her birth a difficult one from which she suffered significant trauma to her brain.
"Grace was subsequently diagnosed with microcephaly, a condition in which a baby's head is much smaller than expected for the baby's age.
"This condition resulted in Grace suffering profound lifelong intellectual and physical disability.
"The Commission's final report describes how she required full-time assistance with almost every aspect of daily living as a child and an adult.
"She needed assistance with: toileting, dressing, bathing, provision of meals, daily activities and more."
"Her dependence on others was total," Ms Foley said.
Grace stayed in foster home until 2009
The Farrelly Commission was established in March 2017 by then taoiseach and Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny and began its work in May of that year, chaired by Senior Counsel Marjorie Farrelly.
The Commission was set up to examine two specific issues - the Grace case and separate allegations surrounding 47 other foster placements at the same home over the same period.
In 1995, on the back of claims Grace suffered abuse in her foster home, the South Eastern Health Board decided not to place any more people in the home.
However, a decision to remove Grace was overturned in 1996 for still unknown reasons.
As a result, Grace stayed in the home until a whistleblower's complaint in 2009 relating to allegations Grace had been physically and sexually abused.
The report has concluded that there is an absence of information in the possession of the Commission identifying issues for further investigation with respect to matters to do with the role or conduct of public authorities in respect of seven of these cases where similar concerns to that of Grace were raised, apart from two which have already been examined.
As such, after taking advice from the Attorney General, the Government has said the second phase of the Commission investigating the other cases will not now take place, partially due to the costs involved and the fact the two foster parents are now deceased.
It said it instead intends to set up an "expert driven, non-statutory safeguarding exercise" to identify "learnings from the Commission's findings".
The Farrelly Commission has cost more than €13m, ran for almost a decade, and has seen the publication of its report delayed on nine separate occasions.
