President Michael D Higgins has supported calls for the publication of a report into historical child sexual abuse allegations in St John Ambulance.
It follows correspondence to the President's Office from Mick Finnegan, who wrote to President Higgins on behalf of victims and survivors.
A spokesperson said the President "is very conscious of the pain and hurt suffered by the victims of abuse and of the continuing impact which such abuse continues to have on their lives."
He added "In response to contact received from Mr Mick Finnegan on behalf of victims of abuse in St John Ambulance, the Office of the President has confirmed to Mr Finnegan that the President supports the victims’ calls for Dr Geoffrey Shannon’s report to be published as soon as possible. Something indeed to which a commitment has been made."
The report on historical child sexual abuse allegations in St John Ambulance was submitted to the board of the organisation at the end of November last year following a review by the internationally recognised expert in child protection Dr Geoffrey Shannon.
Under the terms of reference, Dr Shannon was asked to examine how the organisation handled past allegations of child sexual abuse relating to a volunteer.
The review was also tasked with examining the current standard of child safeguarding.
Following increasing calls by survivors and political representatives for the report to be published a spokesperson for St John Ambulance said in December that the report would be published in early 2023.
On 10 January, the board of SJAI issued a letter to victims and survivors through Dr Shannon, committing to the publication of the full report "immediately after the relevant review by the Board has taken place".
The board acknowledged that survivors and victims were "understandably very eager to review the findings of this report" and said publication would be "as quick and efficient as possible".
This evening, Mr Finnegan expressed his gratitude to President Higgins for his support to victims and survivors.
Mr Finnegan said he hoped to see the report published without further delay.
