Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-02-26
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Peadar Tóibín (AON), Meath West

What is happening here at the moment is a serious scandal. This country has a really bad record in terms of standing up for people with disabilities and learning difficulties. Many of them have been abandoned for a long period of time. State bodies have a history of defending their institutions against those individuals who have been wronged. That is a record that is peppered right throughout the State bodies in this country. Look at the Brandon and Emily cases. The Brandon case exposed 100 incidents of sexual abuse and other abuse against people with intellectual disabilities in Donegal. The Emily case involved the rape of a nursing home resident with dementia in this State. We are talking about situations of absolutely grave importance. We are also talking about a serious eradication of that independent power and confidential power.
Already, there are people within the HSE refusing to work with the confidential recipient or get into things with her. Already, that is happening within the HSE.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-02-26/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:42+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-26