A number of serious safeguarding concerns, including allegations of sexual abuse, were raised in relation to people living at a residential facility for adults with intellectual disabilities in Dublin.
The Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) on Thursday published 28 inspection reports, including one related to Coolfin, a centre operated by St Michael’s House, in Dublin 9.
“There were ongoing safeguarding concerns and incidents, including physical aggression, verbal and psychological abuse, and allegations of sexual abuse, in the centre,” the report on Coolfin notes.
An announced inspection was carried out at the facility on May 27th. Five residents lived in the centre at the time.
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The report states the safeguarding concerns “were attributable to the incompatibility of residents, and had been reported in previous inspections of the centre”.
“Staff told the inspector that incidents were happening on a regular basis, and were having an adverse impact on residents’ quality of life,” the report notes.
“Concerns for residents’ safety were also noted in the provider’s internal audits, meeting minutes, assessments, safeguarding plans, and open complaints made by residents and their families.”
Safeguarding plans had been developed by staff at the centre “outlining the interventions to keep residents safe from abuse”, the report adds.
Another centre run by St Michael’s House was also found to be noncompliant in certain aspects. An announced inspection was carried out at this centre, on Rathbeale Road in north Dublin, on March 26th.
The inspector noted an alleged safeguarding concern in March 2025, relating to a resident’s finance, “had not been raised with the person in charge in a timely manner or in line with the provider’s policy or best practice”.
“It also meant that the concern was not reviewed, screened or reported in accordance with national policy or regulatory requirement. As such, this meant that no appropriate measures had been put in place during this time to mitigate the risk of similar incidents recurring,” the report notes.
The inspector said “some improvements were needed to ensure that all staff were fully aware and familiar with reporting systems in place, should a safeguarding concern arise”.
However, the report added: “Overall, staff facilitated a supportive environment which enabled the residents to feel safe and protected from abuse.”
A spokesperson for St Michael’s House said the organisation takes the matters raised “with the upmost seriousness, particularly when safeguarding arises due to incompatibility issues”.
“In the case of both locations, and prior to the publication of today’s report, we had initiated a thorough review with the objective of ensuring full compliance into the future. We continue to actively monitor each location.”
“St. Michael’s House has a longstanding record of positive compliance arising from HIQA inspections,” the spokesperson added.
Of the 28 reports published on Thursday, Hiqa found “a generally good level of compliance” with regulations in 20 centres operated by a number of providers including St Michael’s House.
However, noncompliance was reported in eight centres. A range of issues were raised about centres operated by Praxis Care, Stepping Stones Residential Care Limited, St John of God Community Services CLG, Resilience Healthcare Limited and Saint Patrick’s Centre (Kilkenny).
