Once again, the State has shown us what it protects – not children, not whistleblowers, not truth. It protects itself.
Instead of doing its job, the State tried to crush a whistleblower—a man who raised the alarm to protect a vulnerable woman, Grace, failed so completely by our care system that the word “failure” hardly covers it.
For his courage, Iain Smith’s life was derailed. His health deteriorated. His career stalled. His family suffered. His name and reputation were dragged through the mud, by a State that should have thanked him, that should have done something.
For trying to protect a disabled woman from sustained and horrific abuse. For trying to stop further harm. For caring.
And while he was punished, the system that enabled that abuse rolled on.
As John McGuinness rightly put it:
“Let no one convince you otherwise, Grace was violently sexually abused on numerous occasions, to the extent that to this day she carries the scars.”
“When is inserting implements into a woman’s anus without consent not anal rape? When is withholding social welfare payments meant for the betterment of the recipient not financial abuse?”
“Would black eyes, bruised thighs, bruised breasts not suggest at even a casual glance that something untoward had happened? She was unwashed, poorly dressed, obviously not getting basic care – and no one noticed?”
No one noticed. Or no one cared.
A 2,000-page report. €13 million. And what does it give us? No justice. No accountability. No meaningful change.
“The report provides some shocking insights and very little remedy.”
This is how we respond to the rape and degradation of a woman in State care?
What Iain Smith said should chill all of us: “The State will try to crush you” and yet, he did it anyway. He stood up. He kept going. So did his colleague. That kind of bravery, to speak up when you know you’ll be punished, is extraordinary. This is what real public service looks like.
We owe whistleblowers everything. They put their lives on hold, they take on the emotional burden, and their families pay the price too. They are doing the work the State has failed to do. They are fighting for the most vulnerable in our society, while those at the top spin PR lines, launch sham investigations, and quietly close the door.
No more commissions of investigation that come to nothing. No more reports that bury the truth. No more punishment for speaking up. No more silencing.
We need robust safeguarding legislation. We need accountability. We need to stop accepting this as normal.
If we don’t protect the people who protect others, then we are all complicit in the next abuse, the next cover-up, the next scandal.
McGuinness reminds us that when TD John Deasy tried to get answers from the HSE, he was stonewalled at every turn. Their instinct was not to protect Grace – but to protect themselves. To shield the organisation. To crush those who spoke up.
Iain Smith said it plainly: “The State will try to crush you.”
That’s not hyperbole. That’s lived experience. That’s the consequence of telling the truth in Ireland.
Whistleblowers aren’t safe. Survivors aren’t safe. No one, not a single person, has been held to account.
The story of Grace should haunt this country. It should live in headlines and history books. It should force us to confront the rot in our systems…..and yet there is silence.
This is how trauma is institutionalised. This is how cover-ups become tradition.
If this doesn’t spark outrage, what will?
We need adult safeguarding legislation with teeth. We need to stop forcing whistleblowers to sacrifice everything just to do the right thing. And we need to name what happened here – not just a failure, but a systemic betrayal.
Grace deserved safety. Dignity. Care.
Instead, she got years of abuse—and now a report that offers “insights” but no real remedy.
Where is the outrage?
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