A former CEO of Barnardos has said he “cannot understand” how the authors of the ‘Grace’ report came to the conclusion that they did. 

The €13 million investigation into the care ‘Grace’ received at a foster home between 1989 and 2009 found there was no evidence of sexual or emotional abuse. 

It did, however, conclude that ‘Grace’, who is non-verbal and has intellectual and physical disabilities, was the victim of neglect. 

On The Pat Kenny Show, Fergus Finlay, former CEO of Barnardos, said he has not read the entirety of the nearly 2,000 page report but disagreed with its conclusions he had read.   

“She exhibited highly sexualised behaviour and she was not the only one,” he said. 

“There are at least three young women now who have been through that and… it’s not the case, in my honest opinion, and I hope I’m not defaming anybody that they’ve got no evidence. 

“It’s the case that they chose not to believe or accept the evidence. 

“There is, in my opinion, as a non-lawyer, overwhelming evidence that at least a prima facie case has to be answered. 

“And I can’t understand how they came to any other conclusion.” 

Reaction to the Grace report: 'Have we actually heard from individuals who live with the cost of living in that foster home? I don't think we have.'

"Emma", whose sister "Sarah" was in the same foster home as Grace, about how she and her family feel about the findings. pic.twitter.com/gLanIHNkSe

— NewstalkFM (@NewstalkFM) April 16, 2025

He added that it is well known among those who work with children that "neglect is a precursor to abuse".

"When the neglect spreads over half a lifetime, abuse is almost inevitable," he said.

"The least you can say about 'Grace' and about two other people whom I know, the least you can say about them is that they lived in the care of people who didn't care about them."

Main image: A teenage girl sitting alone near the sea. Picture by: Gary Hider / Alamy Stock Photo