HSE to publish abuse case inquiry

The Health Service Executive (HSE) has signalled its intention to publish the findings of an inquiry into the case of six children who spent 15 years being neglected and abused by their parents, following the sentencing today of the father for the rape and sexual assault of his son.

The father was yesterday jailed for 14 years, with the final 18 months suspended, for what the judge described as “the systematic sexual abuse” of his son over a three-year period up to 2004.

The HSE last year commissioned an independent investigation, under the chairmanship of Norah Gibbons of Barnardos, into the handling of the case by the social services after the mother was convicted on charges relating to incest with another son and neglect of the couple’s children.

In a statement today, the HSE said it had commissioned the inquiry “to ensure that any failure in the system is brought to light and can be learned from and so that vulnerable children are better protected in future”.

“Cognisant that criminal proceedings were pending, it was not possible for the inquiry team to proceed to finality until the matter before the courts was resolved. This was necessary in the interests of fair procedures for all parties,” it said.

The completion, and subsequent publication, of the independent investigation will now take place in due course, the HSE said.

The case has prompted further calls for the Government to set a date for the referendum on children’s rights.

Geoffrey Shannon, family lawyer and special rapporteur on child protection, said the children in this case were “spectacularly failed” by the system.

Mr Shannon said there were a number of questions that needed to be addressed by the Gibbons inquiry, including whether the HSE failed to protect the children from neglect, mindful of the fact that “the State has a positive obligation to protect children from harmful treatment”.

It would appear the HSE was involved in this case for a period of 10 years before a car order was applied for, he said.

“Another key question is whether there were risk indicators that were not followed up on over the 10 years.”

Fine Gael TD Alan Shatter said the continued “barbaric” abuse within this family over many years yet again depicted a “catastrophic failure” by the State’s child care and protection services.

Mr Shatter claimed successive Fianna Fáil-led governments in office from 1997 had direct political responsibility for the catastrophic failure in this tragic case.

“The failure derives from the Government ignoring the recommendations made in the report published in 1996 into the death of Kelly Fitzgerald which resulted from the failure also of the Western Health Board to properly intervene in her case and to provide to Kelly Fitzgerald the protection to which she was entitled,” he said.

Mr Shatter called on Minister for Children Barry Andrews to state when the report into the failings in the current case will be finalised whether he has received a draft copy of the Report and to undertake to publish this Report without delay and in full.’

the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre(DRCC) paid tribute to the young man at centre of case, who it said had shown remarkable bravery in withstanding the further trauma of being cross examined in the witness box.

By following through with the case against his father, he is to be commended for his bravery and thanked for his service to all of us as a society, DRCC chief executive Ellen O’Malley-Dunlop said.

But she claimed Justice Barry White’s decision to suspend that last 18 months of the sentence because of the man’s lack of any previous convictions.

“Given the grievous nature of the crimes this does not send out a good message to either victims or perpetrators. The man was found guilty he showed no remorse he should have to endure the full sentence,” she said.

Her view was echoed was the Rape Crisis Network of Ireland (RCNI) who claimed the failure to hand down a life sentence would considerably weaken “the State’s ability to monitor and limit this man’s risk to society for the rest of his life”.