The final report of the Farrelly Commission’s long-running investigation into the circumstances surrounding serious allegations of abuse against a severely disabled young woman, known as “Grace”, will be published on Tuesday.
Minister for Children Norma Foley will bring a memo to Cabinet seeking approval for publication of the report of the long-running Commission of Investigation.
The inquiry into “certain matters relative to a disability service in the South East and related matters” was established in 2017 to investigate the care and protection of “Grace” and others in a former foster home in the Southeast (known as “family X”).
The inquiry was established on February 2nd 2016 by then taoiseach Enda Kenny and began its work in 2017, chaired by senior counsel Marjorie Farrelly.
It has applied for a number of extensions over the subsequent eight years. The Farrelly Commission’s costs to end 2021 were €7,900,236.49. That figure included the commission’s legal team, staff, administrative and accommodation costs and third-party legal costs.
The inquiry relates to allegations involving a woman with severe intellectual and physical disabilities and who was also non-verbal. Described by the pseudonym “Grace”, she was placed in foster care at various times between 1989 and 2009.
Grace is alleged to have suffered significant physical and sexual abuse during this time.
[ Q&A: Who is ‘Grace’ and what happened in her case?Opens in new window ]
The Climate Action Plan for 2025 will also be brought to the Cabinet on Tuesday for approval, having been delayed for more than four months because of the general election.
The plan sets out the measures and the action that the Government will take during the year to attain the goal of halving carbon emissions in Ireland by 2030.
The memo being brought to the Cabinet by Minister for Climate, Environment and Energy Darragh O’Brien will set out a retrofitting allocation for 2025 of almost €550 million, including a €280 million allocation to the warmer home scheme which provides free energy upgrades to households at risk of fuel poverty.
In 2023, Ireland achieved a nearly 7 per cent reduction in emissions, but there is still a significant gap between current emissions and the 2030 target.
Mr O’Brien will bring a separate memo that will allow the largest energy generating station in the State, Moneypoint, to convert from coal to oil. The power station, located on the Shannon estuary, has a capacity of 915MW and will be allowed to use oil for a five-year period from 2025 to 2029.
The facility is a large contributor to greenhouse gas emissions but the conversion to oil will lead to some reduction in emissions, notwithstanding that oil is also a fossil fuel but one that generates fewer emissions than coal.
When granting planning permission for the conversion, An Bord Pleanála noted that the generator would be used only as a facility of last resort, as a backup at times when the system was at peak capacity.
[ Radical overhaul of retrofit grants under considerationOpens in new window ]
Mr O’Brien will also tell ministerial colleagues at the meeting he hopes to reform the delivery structures for offshore wind and for renewable energy to ensure that those sectors develop quickly.
The Government has set an objective of achieving 5GW of installed offshore wind by 2030, as part of a wider target of achieving 80 per cent renewable electricity by the end of this decade.
The offshore renewables target for 2040 is 20GW and for 2050 is 37GW.
Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers will brief the Cabinet on the dedicated infrastructure division, located within his department.
Sectoral experts will be seconded to a new infrastructure task force being established by Mr Chambers and will be asked to identify blockages and delays in developing large State capital projects.
The Government is also forging ahead with legislation that will require owners of properties being let out on short-term lets (such as Airbnb properties) to register their houses and apartments.
Minister for Housing James Browne and Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke will seek approval to draft enabling legislation, the Short-Term Letting and Tourism Bill 2025.
The new Bill proposes to name Fáilte Ireland as the registration body for short-term rentals in Ireland by May 2026 in advance of introduction of the EU’s Short-Term Rental Regulation.
