Report: Grace commission excluded those most affected

It says non-verbal and intellectually disabled people and their advocates were neither involved in shaping the terms of reference for the Farrelly commission nor in how its final report was written and published.

The new report, The right to justice and participation: lessons from the Farrelly Commission, was conducted by Inclusion Ireland. It highlights a need for “fundamental reform of Ireland’s public inquiry approach” in cases directly affecting survivors of abuse and disabled people.

The Farrelly commission, chaired by senior counsel Marjorie Farrelly, reported in April after an eight-year investigation into Grace’s care in a foster home over two decades. It found no evidence of serious sexual abuse but concluded she had suffered “serious neglect” and “financial mismanagement”.

Criticism was directed at the presentation of the commission’s findings, which lacked an index and clear pagination. Families of others who had stayed in the same foster home were not briefed before publication, and submissions made on Grace’s behalf by the solicitor general for wards of court were not referenced.

Inclusion Ireland’s analysis draws on the expertise of 12 specialists in disability, children’s rights and human rights through a targeted qualitative survey. They said the commission was “largely inaccessible to those it was meant to serve … with little evidence of survivor-centred or trauma-informed practice”.

The experts – including disability-rights campaigner Suzy Byrne and special rapporteur on child protection Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC – said the inquiry excluded “people who are nonspeaking and people with intellectual disabilities” and pointed to “the absence of accessible communication supports, advocacy structures, and inclusive facilitation as critical failings that prevented meaningful engagement”.

They added that publication was “mishandled, with little regard for the needs or experiences of survivors, families, or disabled people”. One expert said: “None of those consulted were given advance notice or briefings, and no accessible formats – including Easy to Read or audio versions – were made available at the time of publication.”

Inclusion Ireland said that while the final report was an “important milestone”, its process and aftermath revealed persistent failures in access to justice, inclusive participation and meaningful recognition of survivors. “Despite the gravity of what was investigated, the process was not experienced as inclusive, empowering, or survivor-led.

“Participants were clear that future inquiries must break decisively from the past and in how they engage with those most affected.”