Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I join her in welcoming Mick to the Gallery. I am glad of the opportunity to speak on the record of the House on this issue.

Reports of historical sexual abuse in St. John Ambulance in the 1990s have been highlighted in recent years by a number of Deputies and Senators. The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, highlighted it when she in opposition. I engaged with St. John Ambulance in 2021 regarding how the organisation proposed to respond to these reports. Dr. Geoffrey Shannon, senior counsel, an internationally recognised expert in child protection, was subsequently commissioned by the board of St. John Ambulance in March 2021 to conduct an independent review into the handling of historical child sexual abuse within St. John Ambulance.

As I am sure the Deputy is aware, the Charities Regulator, under the aegis of the Department of Rural and Community Development, is Ireland's statutory regulator for charitable organisations, including St. John Ambulance. I and my Department do not have a role in the governance of St. John Ambulance. Nevertheless, as we well know, abuse is not consigned to the past and it is my role in collaboration with Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, to protect children now. As previously advised in my statement to this House in December 2022, the terms of reference of the review, as fully agreed by Dr. Shannon, set out that he would examine how St. John Ambulance handled past allegations of child sexual abuse. The review was also tasked with examining the current standard of child safeguarding in the organisation. Tusla is responsible for assessing any current risk to children arising from historical allegations of abuse. Tusla has liaised with St. John Ambulance regarding the progress of the review and to improve safeguarding processes within the organisation. The St. John Ambulance safeguarding statement, revised under advice from Tusla, has now been deemed compliant by the Tusla safeguarding statement compliance unit.

I wrote to St. John Ambulance in December 2022 to enquire as to the status of the report. I received a reply from the commissioner that the report was complete, had been received by St. John Ambulance and would be subject to legal review. In reply, the commissioner noted that the survivors are understandably eager to review the findings of the report and reiterated that the board of St. John Ambulance was committed to publishing the full report immediately after the relevant legal review had taken place. The reply from St. John Ambulance further stated the board was committed to ensuring the legal review was as quick and efficient as possible.

I again wrote to St. John Ambulance on 26 January. I again urged publication as early as possible, noting that the delay in publishing this report is of great concern. Each delay in publication risks a further diminution in the trust of survivors in this process, and it is the survivors who are central to all of this. I once again reiterate and strongly urge the publication of this report and that it be made available to survivors as soon as possible.

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