Tá teaghlaigh i nDún na nGall ag fanacht go fóill ar fhreagraí maidir le foilsiú thuairisc Brandon. I ndiaidh blianta de mhoill, tá siad go fóill sa dorchadas maidir le caidé a tharla go díreach dá ndaoine muinteartha. Tá siad ag iarraidh fáil amach na fáthanna gur tharla an drochíde seo, cad sa chóras a theip taobh istigh d’Fheidhmeannacht na Seirbhíse Sláinte, agus tá siad ag iarraidh bheith ar a suaimhneas nach bhfuil sé seo le tarlú arís. Cé go bhfuil na freagraí sin ar fáil sa tuairisc, tá an Stát ag seasamh i mbealach na fírinne agus tá an Garda anois ag cur in éadan foilsiú na tuairisce. Caidé atá déanta ag an Rialtas le déanamh cinnte go mbeidh an tuairisc seo foilsithe?

It has been more than a month now since the families of the victims who suffered the most horrendous abuse at Ard Gréine Court, Stranorlar, County Donegal were given a glimmer of hope that the long-awaited Brandon report would be published and finally give them the answers they have been awaiting for years. In circumstances such as these, the comfort of the truth is significant. We know from leaks to the media that more than 118 occurrences of sexually inappropriate behaviour were carried out by a resident who is given the pseudonym of "Brandon" in the report, and that there were 18 victims at Ard Gréine. As the Minister is aware, these victims are among the most vulnerable in society. Many of them are non-verbal. They placed their trust in the centre and the HSE to protect their well-being and safety. Obviously, that did not happen. They were failed again and again.

The bravery of the whistleblower some years ago led to reports to HIQA and the Garda. The individual identified as Brandon was eventually isolated and the abuse stopped. However, astonishingly, two years after that, Brandon was relocated and the abuse started all over again. This was a catastrophic failure. What happened at Ard Gréine can never ever be allowed to happen again, but the HSE continues to fail these families. It moved to block the publication of the independent report. To make matters worse, we have now learned that An Garda Síochána has also moved to block the publication of the report. The Garda is concerned that the report does not accurately reflect the actions it took.

I am saying clearly to the Minister that this needs to stop. It is not acceptable. The Government cannot stand by any longer and allow organs of the State to conceal the truth. This is an independent report that contains findings to which the families are entitled. The ongoing charade, the shrouds of secrecy and the circling of State wagons have no place in a modern democracy. Those days are over and it is the responsibility of the Government to make that message clear.

In 2016, I wrote to the then Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, to raise issue of the under-reporting of abuse at the facility. I got a response from the Minister stating it was a matter for the HSE. Five years on, we now have an independent report that is being blocked by the HSE. This cannot be fobbed off any more to the HSE or any other State agency. The HSE has let these families down again and again. This needs to be dealt with at a political level by the Government. My question is very simple. When will these families have the full report? When will they know the truth of what happened to their loved ones?

First of all, the Government is very aware of the trauma that many individuals and families continue to go through in the context of this issue. The families will get to see a full report. We want that to happen as soon as possible.

The HSE commissioned the national independent review panel, NIRP, to carry out a review of abuse allegations at a HSE-provided residential service for adults with disabilities. The purpose of the NIRP was to review the governance arrangements for the facility to which the Deputy referred and to understand why this situation continued over a period of years without any effective action being taken by management during Brandon's residency to stop and prevent these highly traumatic assaults. The report identified 108 occurrences of sexually inappropriate behaviours by one resident, referred to by the pseudonym Brandon, towards 18 other residents of the facility between 2003 and 2011. The report notes that these incidents occurred with the full knowledge of staff and management of the facility at the time.

The safety and protection of vulnerable people in the care of the State is paramount and the first concern of the Government and the Minister of State with responsibility for disability, Deputy Rabbitte, is to ensure that the needs of the current service users are being prioritised fully and addressed. The HSE has assured the Minister that there is no ongoing risk to service users and that the national governance and accountability structures to oversee implementation of the recommendations arising from the report are in place.

Local gardaí wrote to the HSE on Thursday, 4 November, requesting that the HSE continue to maintain the agreement not to publish the detailed executive summary until it completes its process. Separately, An Garda Síochána wrote to the HSE on Friday, 5 November - the following day - indicating there was a factual inaccuracy in the executive summary which it indicated should be corrected and requesting a copy of the full report. The correspondence is being sent to the chair of the NIRP, who drafted the report and executive summary, for her attention.

At this point, the only pause on progressing full publication is the specific request of An Garda Síochána. Currently, if the chair of the NIRP is satisfied that the report is accurate, there will be no need for any further delay. My understanding is that the Minister is very keen to ensure this report is published as soon as possible and that if there are any issues that need to be addressed between An Garda Síochána, the chair of the NIRP and the HSE, they need to be addressed quickly. Families deserve to get the full truth and to see this full report - not an executive summary or an extended executive summary, but the full report. They have already been through enough in relation to this case. The Deputy is correct that there does need to be political input to ensure the full unvarnished truth in respect of what happened here and the responsibility that comes with that in terms of those who were in positions of decision-making needs to be published and it needs to be transparent. That is the least the families deserve. The Minister of State met families who wished to meet her last Friday on a one-to-one basis to discuss the events and to outline the approach she is taking. I assure the Deputy that the Government wants this report published, and quickly.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire for his response, particularly the comment that the families will get to see the full report, because there have been suggestions this would be an executive summary of the report and that parts of it would be redacted. It is really important that families have the full information. He can imagine the nightmare these families are going through in the context of the many vulnerable loved ones who were in this facility.

Even though the HSE knew that this abuse was going on, it never relayed that fact to the families at the time. That is just appalling. It is not acceptable. Along with Deputies Mac Lochlainn and Pringle, former Deputy Pat "the Cope" Gallagher and others, I met representatives of the HSE in 2016 at the time of the publication of the HIQA report. We were not told of it either, at the time. Thankfully, the whistleblower came forward and gave that information.

It has been a week since the Garda raised the issue. I welcome the fact that the Minister has said there needs to be political input here. Is there any indication whatsoever as to when this report will be published? Is there a chance that it will be published next week? In what format will the report be published? Will it be sent to the family members before it is made public?

Once the issue was brought to her attention in November 2020, the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, sought an urgent update from the HSE on these matters and has engaged with it extensively since then to reach a point where the full findings can be published. The Minister of State met the families that wanted to meet her on a one-to-one basis last week. The Minister of State has also been in contact with Mr. Paul Reid, CEO of the HSE, and the HSE board on this matter, including last week regarding the publication of the report. The Minister of State also wrote to the Minister for Justice and the Garda Commissioner last week regarding any communications they may have received about the case, as well as reminding them of the importance of publication.

We, in the Government, are more than aware of how traumatising this has been and how totally unacceptable it is that vulnerable adults in a residential facility like this could have been abused in a way that happened over a sustained period. We want this report to be published in full. We want complete transparency and accountability on the back of that. The Minister of State is working hard to bring that about. I do not want to give an exact date of publication but certainly, there is an urgent effort to get it done quickly.