The report on child safety issues and allegations of abuse at St John Ambulance found the organisation had failed to act on concerns that young volunteers were being abused in order to try to protect its reputation.
It found there had been a failure to intervene despite significant knowledge of risks posed by a former senior figure in its Old Kilmainham division in Dublin, who is accused of molesting more than 15 boys between the late 1960s and 1990s.
Even when the first aid organisation attempted to put child protection policies in place from the early 2000s, the report found its conservative ethos saw it incorporating “homophobic myths” into its training.
Irish Times reporter Jack Power broke the story with the help of abuse survivor Mick Finnegan. On today’s In the News podcast he explains what the report by Dr Geoffrey Shannon revealed, Tusla’s role in the scandal and how the Government has reacted.
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Presented by Bernice Harrison.
