There have been calls for the board of St John Ambulance to step down in the wake of a highly critical report into historical child sex abuse in the first aid organisation, which also criticised the organisation’s current child protection failings.
The report, by Dr Geoffrey Shannon SC, found the organisation had failed to act on concerns and knowledge of risks posed by a former senior figure in its Old Kilmainham division, who is accused of molesting more than 15 boys between the late 1960s and 1990s.
The independent report heavily criticised failings in St John Ambulance’s current child protection practices and policies, on foot of a review of several recent cases.
In response to the findings, St John Ambulance issued an “unreserved apology” to survivors, accepting its structures “facilitated” the grooming and abuse of children in the past.
David Strahan, chairman of its board, said it would “leave no stone unturned” in bringing in all reforms recommended by Dr Shannon.
“We are sincerely sorry for the hurt that was caused to you, your families and your friends, by the failings of our organisation ... You have been listened to and are believed,” he told survivors.
The organisation was “committed to continuously improving our policies and procedures to ensure that past failings at the organisation are never repeated”, he said.
John Hughes, commissioner of St John Ambulance, said it would do “everything possible to ensure everyone entrusted to our care is safe”.
Mr Hughes said the culture that allowed the abuse of children “is no longer present within our organisation”.
Sinn Féin TD Chris Andrews said the board should step down in light of the findings of the report.
St John Ambulance had “put the reputation of the organisation in advance of vulnerable children”, which he said was devastating for survivors. Failures in current child safety “cannot go unaddressed”, he added.
Mick Finnegan, one of the abuse survivors, said Dr Shannon’s report shone a light into what was “a very dark place and time in the organisation”.
The findings were a “bitter pill to swallow” coming more than two decades after he reported his abuse to the organisation in the late 1990s, he told The Irish Times.
Paul Mulholland, another survivor, said the criticism of current child protection standards in the report was “really shocking” to hear.
Another survivor, who was allegedly abused in the 1970s, said the apology from the organisation had come “50 years too late”.
Fine Gael Senator Regina Doherty also called for the board to step down, stating failings at the top of the organisation “over many years and up until today puts at risk the organisation’s ability to continue”.
Ms Doherty said the Garda had “seriously let down the victims” who previously reported alleged abuse, while also criticising previous assurances Tusla provided over current practices.
St John Ambulance has said a “refreshed board” would be constituted later in the year, which would have safeguarding “at the heart of its agenda”.
Senator Mary Seery-Kearney wrote to the Oireachtas committee on children requesting it hold an emergency sitting in the coming days with Tusla, to question the State agency on previous assurances it provided about the organisation’s safety.
Minister for Children Roderic O’Gorman welcomed the publication of the report.
The Minister said Tusla had been in “ongoing contact” with St John Ambulance since 2019 over current child protection standards, and had assured the department they were satisfied.
In a series of recommendations, the report said St John Ambulance should “abandon its military and hierarchical structures”, which “do not have a place in a modern volunteer organisation”.
There was also a need for “greater professionalism” within the voluntary organisation, and it recommended an independent national safeguarding officer be hired.
In response, St John Ambulance said it would develop “robust internal accountability frameworks” and committed to hire a full time safeguarding officer.
Remaining military and hierarchical structures, criticised in the report, would be abolished within the next 18 months, it said.
Tusla has set up a dedicated helpline for survivors coming forward who wish to report past abuse in St John Ambulance (045 839375), which will operate from 9am until 5pm over the weekend and next week.
