Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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A key recommendation of Justice Dr Geoffrey Shannon’s Independent review report on the handling of past complaints of abuse in St John Ambulance, which was published on March 16^th 2023, was for the appointment of a National Safeguarding officer to the St. John Ambulance Ireland organisation.

The recommendations of the Shannon report are a matter for SJAI to implement and my Department has no role in the implementation of these recommendations. I am clear however, that all recommendations in the Shannon report should be complied with as soon as practicable by SJAI.

Given the need to protect positive work of SJAI and its child volunteers, I am open to providing initial assistance to ensure the recommendations can be complied with in a timely manner. My Department is working to provide initial temporary funding to St John Ambulance to allow this important work, which has been delayed by financial resources issues within St John Ambulance, to commence as soon as possible.

Officials from my Department continue to liaise with SJAI around the progress of implementation of each of the recommendations made by Dr Shannon in his Independent Review.

The implementation of safeguarding measures for other similar organisations are a matter for these organisations themselves and they must comply with the relevant statutory obligations such as Children First.