It has started in more ways than one.

Yesterday, I raised with the Taoiseach the issue of leniency in the sentences handed down for sexual crimes against women and children. In response, the Taoiseach gave his support for our call for the introduction of sentencing guidelines. I urge him and the Minister for Justice and Equality to support Sinn Féin's amendments to the Judicial Council Bill.

As the Taoiseach is aware, I raise these matters on foot of an RTE "Prime Time" programme aired last night which centred on the case of three young girls who were raped by Keith Burke while in the care of a foster family in County Galway. Shock, heartbreak and anger best describe the reaction of the nation - shock at what the girls were subjected to and anger because of the way in which the agencies of the State, particularly the Health Service Executive, utterly failed to protect the children.

In 2007, Rachel Barry disclosed to the HSE that she had been abused by Keith Burke. Her disclosure was judged to be credible by a subsequent HSE investigation. Rachel also disclosed that a second young girl known as Amy had been raped by Burke. A file was sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions, DPP, but no prosecution followed. Incredibly, Amy and another child remained living in the Burke family home where Amy remained until she made a disclosure in 2011. For four years after the risk to this young girl was uncovered, she and other children were left in a setting in which the authorities knew they were at severe risk of rape and abuse. This risk, and the failure of State agencies to act, are best emphasised by the fact that a third victim was uncovered as a result of the investigation following Amy's disclosure. These were young girls who were already vulnerable - that is the precise reason they were in foster care - yet the State failed them when they most needed it. This represents another collapse in the systems and processes designed, we had all hoped, to protect and guard vulnerable children. It was not so long ago that the House discussed the harrowing case of Grace. It is an indictment of our system, therefore, that we come here again and again to express rightful outrage while knowing that it is only a matter of time before the next case arises. I am sure the Taoiseach agrees we cannot go on like this. There needs to be accountability. The Government must support the call for an independent inquiry into this case. Will it do so?

I thank Deputy McDonald for raising this important issue. I had an opportunity to watch the "Prime Time" programme last night. Sexual crimes perpetrated against children are the worst form of crimes - they are abhorrent, unspeakable and unforgivable. It is particularly distressing and shocking that the young women in question were in State care.

I noted some similarities with the Grace case in the south east. I commend the bravery of Sarah, Rachel and Amy in telling their story. In doing so, they will help others. I am sure of that. There is a criminal conviction in the case and the abuser is behind bars where he can do no harm to anyone. I am aware of the concern about the leniency of the sentence in this case. It is, of course, up to the DPP to decide in the coming weeks whether it is appropriate to appeal the sentence to the Court of Criminal Appeal. There will be an independent investigation by the national review panel, which is made up of independent professionals working in the field of child protection. In fact, the investigation is already under way, having commenced at the end of 2016, and is nearing completion. However, it was affected by the fact that a criminal case was in train.

While I realise fully that the victims must relive the abuse they experienced every day, whether it is the smells, sounds or visual flashbacks, it is important to acknowledge that the abuse happened between ten and 15 years ago. Since then, a great deal has been done to improve child protection in the State. For example, the HSE is no longer responsible for child protection or foster care, responsibility for both of which now falls under the remit of a dedicated agency, namely, Tusla. We also have a Department of Children and Youth Affairs with a dedicated Minister at the Cabinet table. We have changed our Constitution to enshrine within it the rights of children and introduced mandatory reporting. All provisions of the Children First Act are now fully in force. We can honestly say that there has been a real change in the way we have prioritised child protection in the State since 2011, although there is always more to be done. We need to do a great deal more in this space in the period ahead.

I join the Taoiseach in commending the women who have come through the awful ordeal that was visited on them as very small girls. I commend them on their bravery. I accept that the protection of our children is now a matter which looms large in public policy in a way that it did not ten or 15 years ago. However, there is no room for complacency. I recall very accurately that as we dealt with the Grace case, we discovered that there were still massive gaps and inadequacies in our child protection system, as well as a reluctance within parts of the HSE and other services to be held accountable when mistakes are made or systems failures identified.

I ask the Taoiseach to tell us more about the independent investigation that he says commenced in 2016. That is, of course, prior to an apology being made to the victims in question. Is this the independent investigation for which the legal representatives of the victims have called? Have the victims and their legal representatives had access to the terms of reference of the inquiry and will they have an opportunity to provide testimony to it? If the Taoiseach could answer those questions in as precise terms as possible, I would appreciate it.

The national review panel was asked to investigate this case in April 2016, which is when the matter was referred. The panel is an independent body consisting of independent professionals from a range of disciplines engaged for their professional expertise. Tusla staff and some former children in care and their families have been interviewed by the panel. Tusla awaits the outcome of the review and has agreed to act on all of its findings and recommendations. I do not have the terms of reference in front of me. As I say, it is an independent panel.

In the context of foster carers and foster families, it is important to note that foster parents are wonderful people in the vast majority of cases. They take vulnerable children who are often troubled, neglected or abandoned into their homes and look after them. We want more people to do this. It is important that we do not do anything which might discourage people from becoming foster parents or create the impression that they are not properly vetted. Before someone becomes a foster parent, there are several months of checks, including a medical check and a Garda check, a link-in with a social worker and training in child protection. We know, however, from recent reviews carried out by HIQA, which is now responsible for inspecting foster care, that this has not happened in some cases where Garda checks have not been conducted as frequently as they might have been. It is evident that we need to do a great deal more work in this area to ensure we raise standards further.