As the Deputy may be aware, officials from my Department met with the Commissioner and Interim Chair of the Board of SJAI on 4 January 2024 in relation to implementation of the recommendations made by Dr. Shannon in his Independent Review.
During this meeting SJAI made the Department aware of the need for financial support in order to fund the post of the Safeguarding Lead which is one of the recommendations made by Dr. Shannon in his report.
Due to concerns over the delay in the appointment of this post, I made a commitment to assist with the funding of this critical role. My Department has now finalised a funding mechanism to enable this to happen. SJAI have very recently confirmed with my Department that a Safeguarding Officer has been appointed to the organisation.
This month I am making funding available for the Safeguarding post within SJAI. This funding is once-off and non-recurrent funding for a total of 12 months and sets a precedent neither for continued SJAI support beyond 12 months nor for any other organisation. In these unique circumstances, I wish to ensure that the Shannon Report is implemented in full and without delay.
Officials in my Department met with SJAI on 9 May last to finalise arrangements for the allocation of funding and the process around the Safeguarding post.
My officials have continued to engage with SJAI on a number of occasions since the publication of Dr. Shannon’s report and will continue that engagement in relation to issues raised in that report and, in particular, in respect of support to survivors of abuse.
