“BAFFLING” IS HOW Kilkenny TD John McGuinness described the final inquiry report into the ‘Grace’ case when asked for his opinion today. McGuinness, who has been raising concerns about Grace for years and chaired the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee which held hearings on the case, said he was “stumped” by the report published today which finds there was no evidence of serious physical or sexual abuse of Grace. The TD said previous reports by Conal Devine document concerns that bruises on the breasts of Grace were caused by hands and that bruises on her thighs raised concerns about some form of sexual interaction. He noted that gardaí were informed and that Grace was taken to the emergency department in hospital and she was referred to the Sexual Assault Treatment Unit. “The government have a lot to answer for her in relation to this report. And I think it was rushed at the end. I think it was rushed against the wishes of Farrelly,” he claimed. There were 47 other children also placed with the foster family, called Family X in the report. The report concludes that a planned second phase of investigation into the placement of the 47 children at the home should not now go ahead. “I believe that we, the public, need to know about the 47 [other children]. Are they safe? Are they being looked after? Is the past, as far as they’re concerned, being dealt with, or are we just going to leave them there with the scars of the past and with the state, once again, ignoring their responsibilities?” said McGuinness. “We know nothing [about the other children] and I think the government is wrong to put it aside, because there’s so much that they can learn from the failures in Grace’s case,” he said. Report should be challenged in the Dáil, says TD Calling it a “shocking report”, McGuinness, who is now the Leas Ceann Comhairle of the Dáil, said that in his opinion, Farrelly may be “wrong” in the conclusions of her report. The report should be “challenged by way of debate” in the Dáil, said McGuinness. “The government need to be challenged on the manner in which it was presented,” he said. Advertisement The final report, which runs to over 2,000 pages long, does not have an Executive summary, something the Children and Equality Minister Norma Foley specifically requested from Judge Farrelly. The minister told the media today that she was told by the commission judge that her request could not be granted. “The fact that it took eight years, too long,” the minster stated today. “The fact there is no Executive Summary, I find that difficult,” said Foley. The minister said she would have liked the report to use “language that everybody could understand, that everybody could read into. That would be my way of doing it, that would be my view”. The minister also asked that the other 47 children, their families and other people including the whistleblowers be informed prior to the publication of the report today that the document was to be made public. The minister told reporters today that the commission judge informed her that her request could not not be fulfilled. The minster was also asked today why any potential whistleblower would consider putting their head above the parapet having read the findings of this report. Minister has not read report in full, just the findings Foley said she hoped they would. When asked about this, McGuinness said: “Why would they come forward?” Spokespeople for the Tánaiste and Taoiseach said they are yet to read the report and could not comment on whether the government was endorsing it. In addition, Minister Foley also confirmed to the media that she had not read the report in full, stating only that she had read its findings. Minister Foley at the press conference in Government Buildings today. RollingNews.ie RollingNews.ie McGuinness said the report should not have been published if that is the case. “They shouldn’t have published it without a proper examination,” he said. The Taoiseach and Tánaiste should give their “considered view” on the report during the Dáil debate “if they cannot do it today”, he said. Related Reads Grace Case report: Evidence woman in care was neglected, but not physically or sexually abused €6.3 million settlement approved for woman at centre of Grace case ‘No answers in report’ in McDonald’s view Also reacting to the report, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said she is “deeply shocked and disappointed” that the report appears, in her view, to provide “no answers”. “I’m mindful that this is a very lengthy report. I want to study it in some detail,” she said, stating that she is “deeply, deeply shocked and deeply disappointed” that in her opinion, the lengthy report provides no answers and certainly with no accountability for Grace or for the others. “I feel that Grace and the others are being let down all over again. To me the passage of time, the delay… the failure to act when clearly there was evidence of abuse, that abuse had been reported, and yet Grace was left in a very, very dangerous and abusive situation,” she said. “The hurt, the damage and the trauma of all of that, I think, is doubled today. We had hoped that after eight years, that this report would bring some answers, some clarity, but above all else, accountability. Somebody somewhere has to be answerable for this,” said McDonald. Asked if she is satisfied with the findings of the commission report into the “Grace” case, Minister for Children Norma Foley said she could “only go” on the evidence provided by the commissioner. During a press conference in Dublin, Foley was asked several times if she supported the findings of the report. She said: “Ms Farrelly was in possession of all of the facts, all of the information. This is what she is presenting. This is her report, these are her findings.” The minister was said it was her job to publish the report. Asked if she was satisfied that “Grace” was not a victim of sexual abuse, the minister said: “I can only go on the evidence that is provided by the commissioner.” She added: “It is my understanding that Grace shared a room with the foster parents, Mr and Mrs X. There was no oversight of that, nobody coming in to check. Grace was with this family for six years and nobody from a social work point of view came to check on her. “There is plenty of evidence here as regards lack of oversight care and protection of a vulnerable adult.” Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan commended Foley for publishing the report, which had been on the desk of the former minister for ten months.