Our Background
Safeguarding Ireland was established to promote
safeguarding of adults who may be vulnerable, protect
them from all forms of abuse by persons, organisations
and institutions and develop a national plan for promoting
their welfare. This will be achieved by promoting
inter-sectoral collaboration, developing public and
professional awareness and education, and undertaking
research to inform policy, practice and legislation in the
Republic of Ireland.
Safeguarding Ireland is a registered charity: RCN 20204851.
Adult safeguarding issues in Ireland
Patricia Rickard Clarke,
Independent Chairperson
Safeguarding Ireland has now been established (through a company limited by guarantee – National Safeguarding Ireland), with the support of its main funder the HSE, to provide a strong governance base and oversight structure for all future inter-sectoral work relating to safeguarding of vulnerable adults spending the envisaged introduction of adult safeguarding legislation by 2025. It also has responsibility for developing a new Strategic Plan to build on the Strategic Plan first developed through the loosely based National Safeguarding Committee (2015-2019).
Safeguarding Ireland Board Members
- Ms. Patricia Rickard-Clarke – Chair
- Mr. David Byrne – Former Attorney General and former European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection
- Mr. Colm Nolan – Society of Financial Planners Ireland
- Ms. Annmarie O’Connor – Former Business Manager, Money and Budgeting Service (MABS)
- Ms. Louise O’Mahony – Head of Sustainable Banking, Banking & Payments Federation Ireland
(BPFI) - Ms. Nora Owen – Former Minister for Justice
- Professor Amanda Phelan – Professor in Trinity College Dublin
- Mr. Phelim Quinn – Former CEO Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA)
- Mr. Mervyn Taylor – Former Executive Director of SAGE Advocacy
Attendees:
- General Manager of HSE National Safeguarding Office
- HSE Principal Social Worker representing Safeguarding and Protection Teams
- Safeguarding Ireland, Programme Manager
- Cavanagh Communications (Public Awareness)
In a Red C Poll commissioned by Safeguarding Ireland, half of the respondents reported that a vulnerable adult close to them had experienced abuse. This should not be acceptable in any society and certainly not in a developed democracy such as Ireland.
Further Aims
Objects, incidental and ancillary to the attainment of the Main Objective, are to do the following for the benefit of adults in the Republic of Ireland who may be vulnerable:
(a) To raise public understanding of attitudes, behaviours, circumstances and systems that create vulnerability that may result in abuse and that may require a safeguarding response.
(b) To promote the protection and rights of people who may be vulnerable by encouraging organisations and services to recognise, prevent and deal with exploitation and abuse effectively.
(c) To inform and influence Government policy and legislation to safeguard the rights of people who may be vulnerable.
Memorandum of
Association
Organisations represented on the
National Safeguarding Advisory Committee
- Active Retirement Ireland
- Acquired Brain Injury Ireland
- Age Action
- Age Friendly Ireland
- An Garda Síochána
- An Post
- Banking and Payments Federation Ireland
- Cavanagh Communications
- Church of Ireland
- Decision Support Service
- Department of Social Protection
- Disability Federation of Ireland
- Disability Rights Network
- ESB
- Faculty of Old Age Psychiatrists
- Health Information and Quality Authority
- Health Service Executive
- Inclusion Ireland
- Irish Association of Social Workers
- Irish Banking Culture Board
- Irish College of Medical Practitioners
- Irish Congress of Trade Unions
- Irish Farmers Association
- Irish Hospice Foundation
- Irish League of Credit Unions
- Irish Rural Link
- Mental Health Commission
- Money Advice and Budgeting Service
- National Advocacy Service
- National Disability Services Association
- National Federation of Voluntary Service Providers
- National Independent Review Panel
- National Shared Services Office
- Safeguarding Ireland
- SAGE Advocacy
- Samaritans
- Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
Organisations represented on the State Payments Group
- AIB Bank
- An Garda
- An Post
- Department of Social Protection
- ESB
- HSE
- Irish Banking Culture Board
- Irish League of Credit Unions
- Irish Rural Link
- MABS
- National Shared Services Office
- Safeguarding Ireland
- Sage Advocacy.
Organisations represented on the Public Awareness Reference Group
- Age Action
- Cavanagh Communications
- Disability Federation of Ireland
- HSE
- Irish Association of Social Workers
- Hospice Foundation
- Irish Rural Link
- Safeguarding Ireland.