merrion street

Minister of State for Disabilities, Finian McGrath TD, has welcomed the approval given today (9th March) by both Houses of the Oireachtas to the draft Order establishing a Commission of Investigation into the care and protection of Grace (pseudonym) and others in a former foster home in the South East, which has been the subject of abuse allegations.

The Minister said “every person in the protection of the State is entitled to expect and receive care of the highest standard and to live in dignity and safety. The very least that Grace and the other vulnerable people who resided in the foster home deserve is a Commission of Investigation which I am confident will leave no stone unturned in arriving at the truth about the State’s failings in that regard.”

“I wish to thank my colleagues in both the Dáil and Seanad for the strongly held and passionately expressed views which they shared with me this week, and for co-operating with me in bringing this stage in Grace’s quest for the truth to a successful conclusion”.

I also wish to commend the whistle-blowers and the members of the Oireachtas, and in particular the members of the Public Accounts Committee, for their tireless efforts to champion Grace’s cause. We owe them all a huge debt of gratitude.

“I am committed to getting the Commission up and running as quickly and effectively as possible, and to hastening the day when Grace and others will get the justice they deserve” the Minister concluded.