Can I also say how sorry I was to hear of the passing of our former colleague, Peter Mathews? Peter was a gentleman to his fingertips. We extend our condolences to his wife, Susan, and to his family. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.

Earlier this morning the HSE published two reports into failures at a foster home in Waterford over the course of almost three decades. During that time the foster home in question housed 47 children, one of whom we know as Grace, a young woman with profound intellectual disabilities. She was left in that home for nearly 20 years despite a litany of sexual abuse allegations and neglect. Grace was forgotten, abandoned by those in the health service charged with ensuring her care.

The findings of the reports published today are shocking. For long periods of time, there was no intervention or interactions with Grace and the various persons who were directly involved in her case failed to discharge their duty of care to her. Both reports published today stress the cases of four other service users relating to allegations of sexual molestation and physical abuse and an allegation from one man that he was locked in a cupboard. All the while, serious breaches of all reasonable practices took place and nothing was done.

These details were brought to the Taoiseach's attention at Cabinet this morning and he will be well aware of them. No doubt he, like everybody else, is deeply shocked by the contents of the two reports.

A commission of investigation has been long promised by Government and I welcome that it is to be set up in the coming weeks. However, what we need here is accountability. Reports and commissions are necessary and fine, but there are clear-cut instances of abuse of the gravest kind here, both in the treatment of Grace and others in foster care and of the failure of health officials to ensure her care and safety. Who is responsible?

We also have what is alleged to have been a cover-up. Last year's Dignam report stated of the two reports published this morning that there were shortcomings in them and that there was an allegation that crucial files may have been deliberately destroyed by persons unknown. That is a disturbing and damning allegation.

The five-year delay in the publication of these reports is, we are advised, as a result of Garda concerns that they may impact on criminal investigations. Can the Taoiseach tell us today where are those criminal investigations at? Have arrests been made? Do they concern the abuse, the cover-up or both? Who in either the HSE or any other State agency has been held responsible? It is not enough for us to produce shocking reports. God knows, we have had enough of them. We need to know who is accountable and that he or she is, in fact, held accountable.

First, the least this House can do is apologise to Grace and her family. Her treatment is a disgrace to us, as a country.

The Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Finian McGrath, requested the HSE to publish the Devine and Resilience Ireland reports following his receipt of the Dignam report in early November last and following discussions with the Garda Síochána, the HSE has been able to publish the redacted reports today, 28 February.

The Government is committed to the establishment of the commission, which we agreed to set up on 2 February 2016. Following the disclosure and the seriousness of the matter, the Government agreed to set up that commission of investigation. The Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, will bring those terms of reference to Cabinet next Tuesday. The HSE apologised today to anyone who experienced serious failings in the care received and for the significant failures of the former South Eastern Health Board.

The Oireachtas has passed a number of items of legislation dealing with issues about this area including the Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences against Children or Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012, which makes it an offence to withhold information on serious offences committed against a child or a vulnerable adult; the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012; the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017, which includes stronger sanctions aimed at protecting children from sexual exploitation, child abuse material and online grooming, was passed by the House at Christmas and signed into law by the President last week; and the Children First Act 2015, which placed key elements of the Children First national guidelines on a statutory basis, has been enacted. When fully commenced at the end of this year, the latter Act will provide for a number of key child protection measures. The Government also established the Child and Family Agency and children have been recognised as individuals in their own right under the Constitution for the first time.

The policy in respect of intellectual disability, Safeguarding Vulnerable Persons at Risk of Abuse, launched in December 2014 provides one overarching policy to which all social care services, including those provided directly or indirectly by the HSE, have subscribed and implemented in their places of work. This has ensured that there is now a consistent approach to protecting vulnerable people - it is a no-tolerance approach to any form of abuse or neglect - and a culture which supports this ethos.

The national guidance on host families in community settings recommendations were made in 2011 and updated in 2012. Ms Leigh Gath is the confidential recipient who will examine concerns and offer help and advice to vulnerable adults or anyone concerned about a vulnerable adult in a HSE service or a service funded by the HSE. The HSE is also establishing a national implementation review panel.

Deputy McDonald asked if arrests have been made in respect of any criminal activities. That is a matter for the Garda Commissioner and the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality to report on. I do not have information in respect of arrests following criminal activity or any case that was being pursued.

The two reports speak for themselves, and they are shocking. As the Deputy is aware, when Mr. Dignam reported back in September 2016, there were a number of legal procedural issues to be dealt with. The Minister updated the Government. They are now published, admittedly in redacted form, and next week the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, will bring the terms of reference for the commission to Cabinet for approval and before the House subsequently.

I thank the Taoiseach for that answer. I acknowledge, and let it be acknowledged, that the standards and the law protecting our children has become ever more robust over the years. I acknowledge also that the Taoiseach is establishing the commission of investigation and that the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, will bring forward the terms of reference for it, but there is the rub. The question for people who woke this morning to read again about Grace and the 20 year ordeal she faced and that was faced by other vulnerable children in the care of the State is who is accountable. The worry for many people is that we enter into another process of a commission that comes out at the far end with zero in terms of accountability. That is why I asked the Taoiseach about the Garda investigation. We need to know the status of those investigations. We do not need every detail but we need to know why the Garda Síochána deems it appropriate now for these reports to be published. The citizenry need a sense of assurance that when offences of the gravest kind such as these come forward that the full force of the law is not just stated but is actually enforced.

Is there some mechanism by means of which the House can be informed as to the status of these investigations?

I expect that the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality, on receipt of information from the Garda, will reply to any questions in the House about this. It is true to say the reports into the Grace situation were delayed because of an understanding to the effect that they might interfere with criminal investigations being conducted by the Garda. That matter was pursued by the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, and ourselves on number of occasions. Advice was then made available which indicated that it was not necessary to wait and that the reports could be published - in redacted form, admittedly - and the Dignam report and the Resilience Ireland report speak for this. The answer to the question is that I cannot say what is the nature of the criminal activities being pursued. I cannot advise the Deputy as to whether people were arrested, but I am sure the information will be made available in its general form to the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality.