No saints

REPORT DETAILS CHILD ABUSE

- DANNY VAAL

ST John Ambulance admitted "it facilitated grooming and predatory behaviour" after a damning report into sex abuse was published yesterday.

The results of an independent inquiry by Judge Dr Geoffrey Shannon were welcomed by Children's Minister Roderic O'Gorman.

It found abuse dated back to the 1970s and child protection measures were inadequate until the mid-2010s.

It further established a significant degree of awareness within St John Ambulance yet it failed to intervene.

One example included a failure to launch a formal probe into sexual abuse and grooming in the late 1990s.

The report stated the organisation neglected its ethical duty of care to its members including hundreds of youngsters. Complaints were not passed on to gardai.

Dr Shannon concluded this was done in part because of legal action fears but the main reason was to protect the reputation of St John Ambulance.

In a statement St John Ambulance chairman David Strahan and commissioner John Hughes said: "We are sincerely sorry for the hurt caused by the failings of our organisation.