By: Michael O’Farrell 

Investigations Editor

GARDAÍ and child protection authorities failed to investigate horrific child abuse allegations at a Midlands foster home for a decade, an Irish Mail on Sunday investigation can reveal.

The case involves a shocking series of failures by numerous State agencies including:

• A Garda criminal case file that mysteriously vanished after a child abuse victim made a formal complaint of child abuse;

• A High Court child abuse case against the owners of the foster home that was quietly settled by the HSE, without any effort made to address the abuse concerns or the safety of other children;

• The repeated failure by a succession of HSE and Tusla officials to deal appropriately with child abuse concerns relating to the foster home;

• The illegal removal of tapes detailing these abuse concerns from Tusla by a retired social worker who kept them in her attic;

• The apparent failure to prevent the foster mother from working with other children in the community even after the HSE removed children from her care amid complaints of physical abuse.

Last night Tusla chief executive Bernard Gloster apologised unreservedly to the victim – a mother, now in her 40s, who was abused for her entire childhood by her father and then again at the foster home where she was supposed to be protected.

The victim – to whom we have given the pseudonym Saoirse – then had to battle for a decade as her efforts to seek justice were repeatedly thwarted by the HSE, gardaí and Tusla.

‘It’s so broken. The system is so broken,’ Saoirse told the MoS. ‘But I’m not in silence anymore. I don’t want to be a victim anymore.’

As part of a high-level review Tusla is now seeking to establish how many other children may have been in danger at the Midlands foster home and from other alleged abusers identified in Saoirse’s allegations.

This week the agency said it was ‘satisfied that the particular family where the service user was placed is no longer involved in fostering, and has not fostered for some time’.

However, none of the alleged abusers named by Saoirse – five of them in all – appear to have ever been held to account. All are understood to be still alive.

Incredibly, the foster mother at the former home won an award in recent years for continuing voluntary work with children – even though the HSE had years previously removed children from her care in response to concerns of physical abuse.

It remains unexplained how the former foster mother was allowed to continue working with children since the role required Garda vetting.

Case files confirm that a succession of Tusla and HSE officials never reported the child abuse allegations made by Saoirse to gardaí – even after it was recommended they do so in 2008.

Instead, in 2009, the HSE quietly settled a High Court case taken by Saoirse and her sister – without referring the concerns to gardaí or acting to establish how many other children may have been affected.

When Saoirse was in care at the foster home, a dozen other children were also in full-time foster care and/or part-time respite care at the home. It is not known how many children may have gone through the home in the years it operated.

This week Tusla said it was ‘continuing to actively seek files and information which, because of the historic nature of the case, presents a challenge’.

‘The agency is not yet satisfied it has all of the necessary information sourced,’ a statement from the agency said.

Saoirse was placed in the Midlands foster home in 1987 at the age of 12. Prior to that she had been routinely sexually abused by her father.

She detailed the foster home abuse in a complaint to gardaí in 2009 – the same year she and her sister took a High Court case against her former foster parents and the HSE.

The HSE settled to have the case struck out – and paid Saoirse €50,000 – but never acted to address the abuse concerns.

Meanwhile, gardaí shelved the case without ever investigating – although they continued to indicate to Saoirse that an investigation was in train.

According to High Court files, Saoirse was ‘assaulted, battered, neglected and subjected to deliberate or reckless infliction of emotional suffering’ at the foster home.

Among other abuses, the court file states Saoirse was regularly beaten by her foster parents, was sexually abused by two third parties and was dragged back by the hair when she tried to run away.

A report prepared for the High Court by psychiatrist Professor Patricia Casey states: ‘[Saoirse] was clearly an intelligent but vulnerable child who was not protected as she should have been.

‘She was placed in an overcrowded and clearly dysfunctional environment in which emotional, physical and sexual abuse took place.’

Following an investigation by the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC), Saoirse received a written Garda apology in February 2019.

But this only apologised for a ‘systems failure’ that resulted in her case being mislaid. It did not address the manner in which Saoirse was led to believe for years that her case was being investigated – when it had in fact been shelved.

The Garda failure to investigate Saoirse’s allegations in 2009 meant she had to make a fresh statement in 2018 to allow a new investigation.

This investigation has recently concluded but due to the passage of time and a lack of willing witnesses, the DPP has decided not to prosecute. Saoirse has asked for a review of that decision.

Meanwhile, she remains concerned about the potential harm – or denial of justice – that may have been done to others in the decade that was lost since her original complaint.

Last year Saoirse was informed by Tusla that, despite her complaints of being sexually abused, no one had ever reported these concerns to gardaí.

Then, in a further twist, Saoirse discovered a retired Tusla social worker had removed taperecordings detailing the abuse perpetrated against her to her home attic in 2016.

Tusla has acknowledged the breach which is currently the focus of an investigation by the Data Protection Commissioner.

The former Tusla social worker responsible -who now works for the HSE – was one of several childcare officials who never forwarded the abuse concerns to gardaí.

On foot of a complaint from Saoirse, Tusla also began an in-depth internal review of her case in November. This is due to be completed in March.

The childcare agency has also appointed a social worker to examine any possibility of ‘current risk’ to children since the alleged perpetrators are still alive.

In addition, Saoirse’s concerns about professional misconduct of those involved in her case have been referred to Tusla’s human resources department.

Tusla has also promised financial assistance to help Saoirse access psychological supports that her GP feels she urgently needs.

However, to date, she and her GP have been unable to access this assistance due to red tape and bureaucracy at Tusla.

In response to queries from the MoS, the HSE said it ‘would be pleased to liaise with this lady to discuss her service needs and offer appropriate support’.

Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan also offered his ‘sympathies for the distress [Saoirse] has suffered as a result of the events she describes’.

‘The minister hopes that her continued interaction with relevant bodies will result in a satisfactory resolution,’ his department said.

Meanwhile, a Garda spokesman said the force could not comment on the GSOC investigation and that an apology had already been made to Saoirse.

A spokesman for Children’s Minister Katherine Zappone said it would not be appropriate to comment while Tusla’s review is ongoing. ‘Any further action required will be based on its findings,’ the spokesman said.

TUSLA has just publicly acknowledged that Saoirse had been repeatedly let down by child services and promised every attempt would now be made to support her.

‘It is abundantly clear that the service user has been failed a number of times,’ chief executive Bernard Gloster told the MOS. ‘We have no difficulty in saying that we sincerely apologise for any way in which she was let down or received poor responses.’ Mr Gloster said Tusla did not yet have a complete picture but added that there is no doubt that Saoirse’s description of her experience is of great concern.

‘Unfortunately as an adult when she sought to raise her childhood memories and experiences, the service she received appears by file review to be well below what would have been reasonably expected,’ he said. ‘The issue in relation to the tape, simply put, has made her experience worse.’ Addressing Saoirse’s concerns a statement from Tusla accepted that there ‘is a reasonable basis to believe that [Saoirse] experienced adverse treatment as a child both before coming into care and while in care in the 1980s’.

Tusla also accepted that childcare services had not responded adequately when Saoirse sought help a decade ago. The agency also accepted recordings ‘did leave the control of Tusla and was located in the home of a staff member who no longer works with Tusla’.

‘Tusla is clear in its assessment that this tape should not have left the control of Tusla and should not have found its way into the home of a now former staff member,’ Tusla said.

‘This is one of a number of events in the service user’s life for which Tusla – as the current operator of child care services and the agency which inherited historical services – does sincerely and unreservedly apologise, and has done so personally.’ The statement added that Tusla ‘is open to continued receipt of and assessment of information to ensure that every effort is made to deal with historic concerns and any relevance they may have to current day child welfare’.

This week Tusla did not respond to a request from Saoirse to acknowledge the experience of her siblings – who were also placed with the same Midlands foster family.

TUSLA SORRY FOR ERRORS

TUSLA has just publicly acknowledged that Saoirse had been repeatedly let down by child services and promised every attempt would now be made to support her.

‘It is abundantly clear that the service user has been failed a number of times,’ chief executive Bernard Gloster told the MOS.

‘We have no difficulty in saying that we sincerely apologise for any way in which she was let down or received poor responses.’

Mr Gloster said Tusla did not yet have a complete picture but added that there is no doubt that Saoirse’s description of her experience is of great concern.

‘Unfortunately as an adult when she sought to raise her childhood memories and experiences, the service she received appears by file review to be well below what would have been reasonably expected,’ he said.

‘The issue in relation to the tape, simply put, has made her experience worse.’

Addressing Saoirse’s concerns a statement from Tusla accepted that there ‘is a reasonable basis to believe that [Saoirse] experienced adverse treatment as a child both before coming into care and while in care in the 1980s’.

Tusla also accepted that childcare services had not responded adequately when Saoirse sought help a decade ago. The agency also accepted recordings ‘did leave the control of Tusla and was located in the home of a staff member who no longer works with Tusla’.

‘Tusla is clear in its assessment that this tape should not have left the control of Tusla and should not have found its way into the home of a now former staff member,’ Tusla said.

‘This is one of a number of events in the service user’s life for which Tusla – as the current operator of child care services and the agency which inherited historical services – does sincerely and unreservedly apologise, and has done so personally.’

The statement added that Tusla ‘is open to continued receipt of and assessment of information to ensure that every effort is made to deal with historic concerns and any relevance they may have to current day child welfare’.

This week Tusla did not respond to a request from Saoirse to acknowledge the experience of her siblings – who were also placed with the same Midlands foster family.