Seven years for abuse concerns to reach gardaí
INITIALLY, whistleblower Carmel Mulpeter’s concerns were dealt with promptly and CWCWE commissioned independent consultants Monalee to look into them. The HSE then became involved as her complaints were verified. But that was just the start of seven years of delay, which gives a valuable insight into how issues in Ireland are often dealt with by the political and administrative class.
REPORT CALLS FOR PROBE
NOVEMBER 2010: The Monalee Report recommends an urgent investigation into how allegations of sexual abuse at CWCWE have been dealt with.
PHIL HOGAN IS INFORMED
FEBRUARY 2013: Two and-a-half years later, concerned at an apparent lack of progress, Carmel Mulpeter approaches Fine Gael minister Phil Hogan and asks that he raise her concerns with Health Minister James Reilly.
CONCERNS SENT TO THE HSE
NOVEMBER 11, 2013: Some 10 months later, Reilly’s adviser, Colm Fahey, telephones. Mrs Mulpeter asks for a meeting so that she can hand over a file that she had prepared of her concerns. She follows up with a letter in December 2013. The letter is acknowledged and sent by Mr Fahey to the Secretary General of the Department of Health, who sends it to the HSE.
HSE PROMISES A REVIEW
JANUARY 16, 2014: Mr Fahey writes to say the internal audit division of the HSE will ‘conduct an examination of the matters raised in your letter’. He also promises that the HSE will ‘review with external support the current position of client care’ to ensure compliance with the recommendations of the 2010 Monalee Report.
ENDA KENNY MADE AWARE
JANUARY 18, 2014: Mrs Mulpeter writes directly to Taoiseach Enda Kenny to say she is disappointed that Mr Fahey has not agreed to meet her to receive her file – almost a year since she first brought her concerns to the attention of Fine Gael party contacts. ‘I am writing to you hoping that you will help,’ she writes. ‘I did not wish to go public and hurt the service users and their families.’ She says, however, that she is not prepared to ‘leave things as they are’. Mr Kenny’s office acknowledges the letter, saying her correspondence has been sent to James Reilly for his consideration.
HSE ‘SERIOUSLY CONCERNED’
FEBRUARY 5, 2014: The HSE’s Head of Operations and Service Improvement Disability Services, Marion Meany, writes to Mrs Mulpeter to say the ‘HSE is seriously concerned about the matters raised’, is investigating them and is carrying out a review to ensure service users ‘are receiving high-quality service.’ The terms of reference contain no reference to sexual abuse.
FILE GIVEN TO REVIEW TEAM
JULY 2, 2014: Mrs Mulpeter meets the review committee and hands over her file – which includes details of sexual abuse concerns dating back to her original 2010 complaint.
‘TAKE FILE TO HSE OR CWCW’
JULY 4, 2014:
The review committee writes to Mrs Mulpeter to say: ‘The team has advised that you should submit the file directly to CWCW (Co Wexford Community Workshop) or the HSE or both and seek to have a formal examination of the disclosures contained therein. The team has also advised that you may wish to consult with An Garda Síochána if you have concerns that are of a criminal nature.’
HSE ASKS FOR RETURN OF FILE
AUGUST 1, 2014: Nearly a month later, Deirdre Scully – the HSE’s acting Head of Operations and Service Improvement – writes to Mrs Mulpeter, asking for the abuse dossier, which has since been returned, to be sent back to the HSE as ‘any allegations relating to client care or welfare would be of very serious concern to the HSE’.
THIRD REVIEW AGREED UPON
OCTOBER 15, 2014: A third review – this time into the sexual abuse allegations – is agreed. Dr Cathleen Callanan – a member of the abuse review team – writes to advise Mrs Mulpeter that among the terms of reference will be ‘historical or current abuse/neglect’.
SECOND LETTER TO KENNY
NOVEMBER 17, 2014: Mrs Mulpeter writes again to Enda Kenny: ‘I am now of the opinion that the HSE may not want to deal with this matter... I also have serious concerns regarding the HSE’s handing of the investigation into the organisation in 2010 and other serious issues,’ the letter reads.
KENNY REFERS HER TO LEO
NOVEMBER 20, 2014: According to an acknowledgement letter, Mr Kenny refers Mrs Mulpeter to Health Minister Leo Varadkar.
HE ‘DOES NOT RECALL’ LETTER
JANUARY 18, 2015: Mrs Mulpeter emails Enda Kenny, asking to meet on behalf of service users and their families. The Taoiseach’s office says he will not meet Mrs Mulpeter and that the correspondence has been forwarded to Varadkar. Speaking this week, a spokesman for Mr Varadkar told the Irish Mail on Sunday: ‘It was the practice to treat all such matters with the utmost seriousness. He has no recollection of the correspondence. We have checked with the Department of Health and it has no record either.’
CHIEF WHIP KEOGH INFORMED
JANUARY 23, 2015: Mrs Mulpeter emails Government chief whip Paul Keogh, a local TD, asking for a meeting to discuss her concerns. He agrees and advises her to bring her file to the gardaí. She also emails Labour Party minister Brendan Howlin – another local TD.
NO WORD FROM HSE FOR A YEAR
MARCH 15, 2016: Mrs Mulpeter writes to the HSE to say that it has now been over a year since she has heard from it.
HSE STILL ‘CONSIDERING’ ISSUE
MARCH 16, 2016: The next day, the HSE responds to say ‘the reports are being finalised and considered by the HSE. Following on from that, a process will be put in place to engage with all the relevant stakeholders’.
SHE NEXT WRITES TO POBAL
JUNE 30, 2016: Mrs Mulpeter writes to Pobal to express concerns about financial governance issues. She informs it that she has met with the HSE’s internal audit team about these concerns and that they told her that they would forward her concerns to Pobal. ‘Despite the meeting taking place nearly two years ago, I cannot get answers regarding matters from the HSE,’ she writes. ‘This is why I am now writing to Pobal. I had expected contact from Pobal and as I have not (received contact), I am now of the opinion that the HSE may not have contacted Pobal. I would have serious concerns if the HSE has not made Pobal aware of my serious concerns regarding issues.’
‘THREE REVIEWS ARE FINALISED’
SEPTEMBER 23, 2016: The HSE writes to Mrs Mulpeter to say the three reviews are finalised and that it would like to meet with her to discuss their contents.
MULPETER ASKS FOR REPORTS
SEPTEMBER 29, 2016: Mrs Mulpeter writes to request the reports to allow her to consider them before any meeting. She writes to Enda Kenny after management at Kilcannon had apparently been told the previous year that the organisation had been cleared of any wrongdoing by the HSE – something the charity has told reporters inquiring about the reviews. The Taoiseach’s office refers the letter to Health Minister Simon Harris’s office.
‘NOTHING TO DO WITH HARRIS’
OCTOBER 21 2016: Harris’s private secretary, David O’Connor, says the minister’s office has nothing to do with HSE matters. ‘I’m sure you’ll understand it is not possible for him to get involved in the dayto-day running of hospitals or get involved in individual cases,’ he writes, adding that Mrs Mulpeter’s letter has now been forwarded to the HSE National Advocacy Unit in the Quality and Patient Safety Directorate, which will decide which HSE area it is appropriate to send her correspondence to for investigation.
POBAL INFORMED AT MEETING
OCTOBER 25, 2016 Mrs Mulpeter meets Pobal and provides it with her concerns about financial issues at CWCWE. She also informs them about concerns about sexual abuse allegations and her ongoing battle with the HSE about these.
POBAL REFERS ISSUE TO GARDAí
JANUARY 13, 2017 Pobal’s Audit and Verification Manager, Kevin Cooke, writes to Mrs Mulpeter to say that Pobal ‘notes that the file contains a number of issues that appear to be of a very serious nature and indicates matters that are required to be brought to the attention of the relevant authorities’. He continues: ‘We have brought these most serious matters to the relevant authorities (namely the gardaí, Tusla, and the HSE) so that they may be fully assessed and properly investigated.’
GARDAí MEET WITH MULPETER
Carmel has since been contacted by Detective Michael Kelly from Enniscorthy Garda station and has had one meeting at which a female detective was also present. Seven years after the HSE first became aware of abuse concerns at CWCWE, the matter has finally been reported to gardaí – not by the HSE or the charity itself – but by Pobal.