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Investigates Investigates Money Diaries Daft.ie Property Magazine Allianz Home Magazine The 42 Sports Magazine The Journal TV Climate Crisis Cost of Living Road Safety Newsletters Temperature Check Inside the Newsroom The Journal Investigates The Explainer A deep dive into one big news story Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture have your say Or create a free account to join the discussion Advertisement More Stories Alamy Stock Photo HSE chief: Handling of care of Grace was 'abject failure, even by the standards of the 1990s' The 2,000-page report on the ‘Grace’ case published yesterday found no evidence of physical, emotional or sexual abuse. 10.41am, 16 Apr 2025 Share options HSE CEO BERNARD Gloster has accepted the report from the ‘Grace’ case inquiry, which found no evidence of physical, emotional or sexual abuse. However, he said, there was a significant lack of oversight in her care and “we will never know the full life experience of Grace”. The case concerns a young woman with profound intellectual disabilities who was left in a foster home in the Waterford area for almost 20 years, despite a succession of sexual and physical abuse allegations. The controversy resulted in the then-HSE Director General Tony O’Brien apologising to the 47 families – including Grace’s – who were in the care of the home. The report published yesterday, which runs to 2,000 pages, states that the commission is not satisfied that the evidence was such as to establish that marks and bruises seen on Grace was a result of her having been subjected to physical abuse. The report outlines that it did not establish that Grace had been subjected to sexual abuse over the years that she lived with Family X. However, the commission is satisfied that there was neglect in the standard of care provided to Grace, in terms of her clothing and personal hygiene. There was also a level of financial mismanagement or abuse when it came to Grace’s disability allowance, it said. The report did not explain why a decision to remove Grace from the home was overturned in 1996, keeping her there until a whistleblower made a complaint in 2009.. Speaking to RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Gloster said he is not aware of any withholding of information on the HSE’s part, and that it answered questions truthfully. “Her care was bad. Her care was wrong,” he said. Advertisement He apologised again on behalf of the HSE, acknowledging the “anxiety and concern” over the report’s findings – “or what people see as the absence of findings”. There are still findings here that are absolutely truly shocking, even by the standards of the 1990s. He described it as “an absolute abject failure”. There were also claims that people who also lived at the foster home and family members that gave evidence during the inquiry were intimidated by the HSE. One woman, who described the line of questioning as “terrifying”, told RTÉ that it was inferred that her mother “was lying or making stuff up”. Gloster said this was never reported to him since he took up the role of CEO in 2023. “The team have absolutely assured me, and we would have an expectation that people would conduct themselves well in a context like this,” he said. “But there is no doubt that a process like this explores difficult questions, and that’s a difficult experience for everybody.” Derval McDonagh, Chief Executive of Inclusion Ireland, said it is disgraceful that there is still no advocacy service for children with disabilities in Ireland – “so there could be children at risk who do not have an advocate walking alongside them as they experience and come forth with their stories of concern”. “We have a national advocacy service, for example, for adults with disabilities, but it’s chronically underfunded and there are a long waiting list to access the service.” She said that past patterns of institutionalisation are being “recycled” and, as a result, “we are at risk of having more stories like Grace”. “It shouldn’t come down to whether or not there just happens to be good practice or a good leader in a particular area. There should be robust safeguarding legislation to back it up as well and to really hold people to account.” Gloster also said: “Any process in the HSE that’s looking at any type of safety of people in care now has and is subject to scrutiny of the safeguarding services.” Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Support The Journal Mairead Maguire Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “HSE chief: Handling of care of Grace was 'abject failure, even by the standards of the 1990s'”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “HSE chief: Handling of care of Grace was 'abject failure, even by the standards of the 1990s'”. 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