The Irish Association of Social Workers wish to express solidarity and support to Grace, Grace’s mother and with all of those who supported justice for Grace. We, like many others, have been reading the Farrelly Commission Report and are listening to the national discussion on it.
As the lead profession in adult safeguarding, social workers are clear. Commissions of Inquiries are not suitable mechanisms by which to review safeguarding concerns, nor do they promote a culture of genuine learning. Witnesses have advised that they felt traumatised in what they described as an adversarial environment. This itself points to a process which could never support the kind of sensitive, skilled reflection and dialogue required to better understand what happened to Grace and how we can learn from it.
The publication of a nearly 2000-page document which has neither an executive summary nor clear recommendations and the failure to consult with families, will ensure the Farrelly Commission Report remains inaccessible for most people, even those most impacted by it.
Much has been said about evidence. The known association between gross neglect, financial abuse and other forms of abuse are well known. The threshold of evidence used in the Farrelly Commission of Inquiry is very different to those used in expert safeguarding reviews. It is our case, that had the Farrelly thresholds been applied in the Emily case, the 22 other older women identified as likely victims of sexual abuse in that case would never have been identified. IASW has long called for safeguarding reviews to be carried out by competent safeguarding experts which promotes meaningful learning, and we continue to do so.
All eyes must now turn to the Government. IASW asked for robust adult safeguarding legislation after the Brandon case. The Government failed to act. We asked for legislation after the Emily case. The government failed to act. We are asking for the Government to act now, in the wake of the Grace case.
While we acknowledge that the HSE and Government have introduced and are working on new measures to improve adult safeguarding, these measures remain piecemeal. Both current and planned policies are not sufficient.
It remains the case today in 2025 that social workers cannot adequately support or protect adults at risk of abuse in Ireland. We lack robust adult safeguarding legislation with mandatory reporting to ensure safeguarding concerns are recognised and reported, and that the system responds in a way which places the rights, wishes and needs of the adult at risk at the centre of all activity. Quite simply, we lack the legislation to do our jobs.
The ongoing failure to provide allocated social workers or regulated placements to all children in care in 2025 begs the question – what have we truly learned?
Finally, we wish to acknowledge the commitment of the two social workers who worked tirelessly to support Grace, at immense personal and professional cost, in what was an oppressive, silencing culture. Like our social work colleagues in the Emily case, the Grace case social workers were pivotal in bringing injustice to light. They are an inspiration and guiding light to others in our profession and we thank them for their work.
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