Minister of State for Disabilities Anne Rabbitte is seeking an urgent meeting after it emerged that a 12 year old boy in state care was sexually assaulted in recent weeks according to reports by RTÉ.
The boy who has severe intellectual disabilities, who is referred to by the alias ‘Fionn,’ was sexually assaulted by another resident on two separate occasions while staying in a HSE run care facility.
On one of the occasions Fionn was found covered in faeces after being locked into his bedroom by his abuser in an incident where staff were unable to gain access to the room for some time.
It is understood that on this occasion the perpetrator locked themselves in the room with the child for approximately four minutes while ‘Fionn’ was asleep.
Speaking on Drive Time, Minister Rabbitte said she was “very shocked with what I had heard and what I have read. I’m very disappointed and very concerned. I can’t imagine how the family feel in this situation”.
The Minister added that it was “not acceptable and that’s one of the reasons in the follow-up of what has been published in the last 24 hours, I’m going to organise a meeting with the HSE and Tusla and service provider.”
The boy was placed in the care of the state as his family were struggling to cope with a host of conditions the child suffers from including ADHD, severe autism, and moderate intellectual disability.
Minister Rabbitte said “I’m also going to reach out to the family to have a meeting with them, to get answers. I think there is a need for a lot of answers here,” adding that there “needs to be clarity brought to the situation as to how this happened and how we had repeated incidents as well. I can’t stand over that carry on.”
Commenting on reports that the care facility in question did not report the abuse to ‘Fionn’s’ parents for 3 days and that they failed to inform AnGarda Síochána for 11 days after the incident Rabbitte said “”That’s not acceptable by any manner of means,”
The Minister said she felt “very let down as a hands-on minister who likes to know what’s going on,” adding that she has “huge interest in safeguarding,”
“For me not to be made aware of this, I feel very disappointed.” she said
“They should not be a frequent event. They should be a red flag. But I’d prefer not to be hearing about them all as there should be no such incidents at children’s or adults’ residential unit,” she added.
Representatives of the care facility at the centre of the case declined to comment on the incidents.