Safeguarding Ireland launches priorities to improve protection of at-risk adults
Adult Safeguarding Legislation already drafted and long overdue
Urgent enactment of adult safeguarding legislation is the number one action that should be taken to strengthen adult safeguarding in the State.
That’s according to Safeguarding Ireland which today launched a new position paper 4 Priorities: A Roadmap for Adult Safeguarding Legislation and Policy in the Oireachtas AV room (21/10/26).
Safeguarding Ireland said most of the work for adult safeguarding legislation is already done, with draft legislation in place, and what’s now needed is the political will to enact it.
Addressing Oireachtas members, Safeguarding Ireland Chairperson Patricia Rickard-Clarke said the top four priorities to keep all adults safe from harm and all forms of abuse are:
“Adult Safeguarding legislation, Criminal Offences relevant to safeguarding, system changes relevant to safeguarding and the establishment of an independent safeguarding body.
“The first action is for Government to sanction – with urgency – an inter-agency and inter-departmental Working Group to deliver of Adult Safeguarding Legislation as soon as possible.
“The Law Reform Commission (LRC) report A Framework for Adult Safeguarding (2024) already includes a draft Adult Safeguarding Bill. Within a short timeframe, a Bill could be fine-tuned, agreed and enacted. What’s needed is the political will to support a clear pathway to achieve this.
“Safeguarding Ireland is opposed to any phased implementation of safeguarding legislation, that is initially only focused on the health and social care sector. This legislation must be cross-sectoral from the start, covering all sectors – health and social care, financial, justice, housing and disability.”
The new ‘4 Priorities’ Position Paper can be viewed at here.
The second priority in the paper is to enact four Criminal Offenses specifically related to adult safeguarding, in line with the Criminal Law (Safeguarding) Bill (2024) drafted by the Law Reform Commission.
These are for:
- Offence of – intentional or reckless abuse, neglect or ill treatment
- Offence of – serious harm to include that of a psychological nature
- Offence of – Coercive Control to include non-intimate relationships
- Offence of – Coercive Exploitation.
Ms Rickard-Clarke continued: “Safeguarding Ireland calls on the Minister for Justice to enact in the short term the Law Reform Commission’s Criminal Law (Safeguarding) Bill, which includes these four offences.”
The third priority is to deliver three system and policy changes relevant to adult safeguarding including the following:
- Expand data sharing, when relevant to safeguarding, across all sectors
- Strengthen financial safeguards for State Payments
- Operationalise a Register for Advance Healthcare Directives.
The fourth priority is to establish an independent and cross-sectoral national body with responsibility for Adult Safeguarding within the lifetime of this Government.
“Ireland needs a rights-based, statutory, cross-sector adult safeguarding system that provides consistent protection, effective prevention, timely intervention, independent advocacy and clear accountability for all adults at risk regardless of where they live or the source of abuse.
“Safeguarding Ireland’s position is – anything short of a new national body for safeguarding is a failure to acknowledge current realities and address the abuse of adults seriously at Government level”, Ms Rickard-Clarke said.
The role of the safeguarding body would include:
- To receive reports of actual or suspected abuse / harm in any sector
- Respond to reports and ensure that action is taken
- Direct the HSE and other statutory or non-statutory bodies
- Conduct Serious Incident Reviews
- Set standards and monitor compliance
- Put in place preventative measures
- Oversee robust data collection
- Carry out research
- Be an independent point of reporting for the Confidential Recipient role
- Provide training, education and public awareness.
Safeguarding Ireland coordinates the National Safeguarding Advisory Committee (NSAC) – a legislation, policy and public awareness focused cross-sectoral working group – comprising 40 national organisations with a leading role in safeguarding – and was joined by many member organisations today endorsing the ‘4 Priorities’ that government has been asked to deliver.
The new ‘4 Priorities’ Position Paper can be viewed at here.
Further Information
Ronan Cavanagh, Cavanagh Communications: (086) 317 9731.
info@safeguardingireland.org / www.safeguardingireland.org
Safeguarding Ireland promotes safeguarding of adults to protect them from all forms of abuse by persons, organisations and institutions and to deliver a national plan for promoting their welfare. Safeguarding means putting measures in place to uphold our rights, to support our health and wellbeing, to reduce our risk of harm – and to empower us to protect ourselves.
