Members of the Seanad have called for a full public inquiry into St John's Ambulance.
The calls came during a discussion on a cross-party motion demanding the immediate publication of a review into the handling of historical child sexual abuse at the charity.
An independent investigation has been completed by Dr Geoffery Shannon, who will furnish the charity with the completed report.
Senators said the charity needed to publish it because any delay is retraumatising for survivors.
Contributors to the debate paid tribute to survivor Mick Finnegan, who was in the Seanad for the debate.
He was commended for his bravery in refusing to give up on his campaign for justice and it was acknowledged that there are many other victims.
Sinn Féin TD Lynn Boylan pointed out that at 14 years of age, Mick Finnegan reported the abuse to his family, St John's Ambulance and the gardaí.
"Coming forward takes huge courage, but unfortunately for Mick, no one wanted to know … no one cared about someone from the inner city being abused," she said.
Green Party Senator Pauline O'Reilly said there was "a class element to this". She said people were ignored for decades.
"It's like some people matter and some people don't and what this house is saying today is, that is not acceptable."
However, Labour Senator Annie Hoey said it was not a class issue and the revelations this week in relation to the Spiritan Congregation showed that abusers sought out vulnerable people.
She said it was striking that 100 victims had engaged with the investigation into abuse at St John's Ambulance, and that despite seven people coming forward initially, it "wasn't enough in the view of the DPP".
She said one person should be enough.
Leader of the Seanad Regina Doherty said a "practice appears to have developed" where she said the DPP "decides not to take cases against perpetrators" due to their age or frailty, making her "sick to the pitt of her stomach".
"This is not justice being delayed, it's justice being denied" due to the age of perpetrators, she said.
Independent Senator Lynn Ruane said justice had to match transparency and truth.
Noting this week's revelations about sexual abuse allegations against the Spiritan congregation, she said people had seen that sexual violence exists everywhere.
Senator Ruane said St John's Ambulance had to be held to account so that those who knew and remained silenced would be removed and held to account.
Senator Victor Boyan described St John's Ambulance as a meritocracy with a quasi-military mindset where the culture was against change.
He echoed the calls of fellow Senators for a full state led public inquiry into the charity.
Fine Gael Senator Mary Seery Kearney said there was a parallel piece to be done in addressing how society is gaslighting people "amongst us" that were sexually and physically abused as children by people in trusted positions.
She said there had to be a discourse in Irish society to confront the past because sexual abuse victims are othered.
Minister for Children Roderic O'Gorman said that while the findings of the review will be presented to the Board of St John's Ambulance in the first instance, it was his expectation that St John Ambulance would ensure publication of the Review Report.
Minister O'Gorman said Tusla and officials from his department have met to prepare for publication of the report and ensure "supports were in place" for any persons affected by the details contained in it.
He told the Seanad that Tusla officials "are liaising with St John’s Ambulance" to coordinate these supports and ensure all relevant information is shared with Tusla and An Garda Síochána as necessary.
The minister concluded by saying that the review was established to ensure that all people affected by sexual abuse or who were concerned that abuse had taken place within St John’s Ambulance had the opportunity to be heard in a safe and supportive manner.
He described Dr Shannon as an expert in the area of child protection and expressed confidence in his ability to deliver a robust and thorough review report.
"Publication of the report and its recommendations ensures transparency at the conclusion of the review. The recommendations will doubtless be of benefit to other voluntary organisations seeking to improve their own child safeguarding measures," Minister O'Gorman said.
"It is my hope that publication will ensure all those who participated in the review are heard and acknowledged."
