Today the HSE is to publish the executive summary of the long-awaited Brandon report into abuse at St. Joseph's Community Hospital in Stranorlar, County Donegal. My colleague, Deputy Doherty, among others, has been calling for the full report to be published. It has taken too long to get to this point. It has been a long and harrowing road for the families of those who suffered the most horrendous abuse. They hoped that this report would finally give them the answers they have been waiting on for years.

We now know that more than 100 occurrences of sexually inappropriate behaviour were carried out by one resident who has been given the pseudonym "Brandon" in the report and that there were 18 victims. We know that Brandon was moved from time to time but while such moves gave respite to victims and staff in one area, they allowed Brandon to carry on abusing new victims in the area to which he was moved. This was the most awful of situations. These victims were the most vulnerable in our society. They were non-verbal and placed all of their trust in the centre and the HSE to protect them. That obviously did not happen. Those victims were failed. After the bravery of a whistleblower and after the reports to HIQA and An Garda Síochána, the individual identified as Brandon was eventually isolated and the abuse stopped.

This can never, ever be allowed to happen again. Even after all of this and despite public calls for the publication of the report, the full report is still not being published. The executive summary, while detailed, is still not the full report. The families and the public need to know all of the facts. Why continue to drag this out? The families and the public deserve the full truth. To properly protect our most vulnerable patients going forward, we need to learn from the mistakes here. The executive summary is not enough to do that. There are continuing questions for the HSE. The executive summary raises questions regarding the management and leadership of the HSE during this period.

I am also annoyed that the publication of the executive summary has come on the last day of this Dáil term. Given the gravity of what is contained therein, sufficient time must be allocated in the Dáil to debate the report and its findings in full. Will the Government press the HSE to publish the full report? I am sure that the Tánaiste will agree that there needs to be accountability for the failures in how all of this was managed. Given the seriousness of the issues, will he commit to providing time to debate this report in full at the first opportunity when the Dáil resumes in the new year?

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue today. I am very conscious that in discussing this matter, there are families who have been deeply impacted and who are deeply hurting. Anyone who has read or listened to the reports on the issue is going to be shocked and upset by what has happened. Certainly, when I read about it, I was horrified that this could have happened. I even felt disbelief that something like this could happen and continue to happen for a period of time. All of our thoughts, in the first instance, are with the individuals and families affected. I cannot begin to imagine what they have been going through this morning and in the years gone by.

The Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Rabbitte, who is responsible for disability services met with HSE officials on Tuesday to discuss the publication of the Brandon report. The HSE informed her that it intends to publish the executive summary of the Brandon report today. It also informed her that it is communicating with the families of those directly impacted who were due to receive the executive summary yesterday in advance of wider publication. With regard to the full report, the Minister of State is seeking advice from the Attorney General as to whether she can publish it either fully or in redacted form. At the moment the HSE is saying that is not possible but the Minister of State is not accepting that at this point in time. She is seeking advice from the Attorney General as to whether she can publish it in full or if not in full, at least in redacted form. The HSE has confirmed that it has put some help in place to help families during what will be a very difficult time for them and to answer any queries they may have. Families have been contacted by psychology or social work staff who have been known to them since 2018. A contact phone number has been provided to families, with any calls being answered by a psychologist.

The safety and protection of vulnerable people in the care of the State is paramount. The Government's first concern, and that of the Minister of State, is to ensure that the needs of the current residents are being prioritised. It is important that lessons are learned and that changes are made. The focus must be on ensuring that the findings and recommendations of the report are implemented. The HSE has assured the Minister of State that there are no ongoing risks to service users and that national governance and accountability structures to oversee the implementation of recommendations arising from the report are now in place.

A debate on this in the Dáil would be entirely appropriate, perhaps when we resume in the new year when Members have had a chance to read and consider the report. Of course, the allocation of time for a debate is a matter for the Business Committee.

The Dáil recently heard statements on the Grace case, which were deeply moving. That is the precedent and I welcome the fact that we will have statements on this report. As the Tánaiste said in his response, lessons have to be learned here. We need the full report to be published. We need all of the facts to be on the table and from that, hopefully, will come accountability and a framework to ensure that this never, ever happens again. The Tánaiste said that the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, is working with the Attorney General on the publication of this report. It is critically important that the full report and not just the executive summary be provided to the public, that there is full accountability for what happened here and that lessons are learned. We can then engage in this House to try to make sure, collectively and on a cross-party basis, that this never, ever happens again.

As I mentioned, the Minister of State and the Government are keen to see the full report published. The HSE has taken a view that this cannot be done and that only the executive summary can be published, and that is being done today. The Minister of State is engaging with the Attorney General to see if it can be published. That is certainly our preference. If it cannot be published in full, for legal or other reasons, surely at least it could be published in redacted form, taking out sections or names to protect people's privacy and confidentiality if that is appropriate.

I am sure we can put this as the number one item on the agenda for a decision at the first meeting of the Business Committee after Christmas.