Contact Details
Aidan Gordon
Chief Executive Officer
National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland
New House
St Patrick’s College
Maynooth, Co. Kildare
Tel: +353 (0)1 505 3124 Fax: +353 (0)1 505 3026
Email: [email protected]
Web www.safeguarding.ie
About the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland
In order to prevent abuse and to foster a positive culture for children in the Church, the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland (registered as Coimirce) was established in 2006 and incorporated as a company limited by guarantee in 2008. The NBSCCCI works to develop child safeguarding policies and practices for the Church across the island. The founding members of the NBSCCCI comprise the Archbishops and the Episcopal Secretary of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference, together with the Secretary General of the Association of Leaders of Missionaries and Religious in Ireland (AMRI) as well as nominees from the AMRI executive. These two sponsoring bodies fund the operation of the NBSCCCI. In 2007 the Board appointed Mr Ian Elliott as Chief Executive Officer, who retired in 2013. Ms Teresa Devlin was appointed as CEO in 2014, retiring in 2023, and Mr Aidan Gordon has been serving as CEO since April 2024.
The main object of the company is to provide advice, services and assistance in the furtherance of the development of the safeguarding of children within the Catholic Church in Ireland, and to monitor compliance with legislation, policy and best practice as well as to report on these activities annually. The functions of the NBSCCCI are set out in its Memorandum and Articles of Association, and apply to those who are constituent members. These functions include ‘Guidance on the use of technology’, and are detailed on www.safeguarding.ie. These functions can be summarised into three categories:
- Advice and support on all aspects of child safeguarding and case management within the Catholic Church in Ireland
- Development of policy, procedures and practice on all aspects of child safeguarding within the Catholic Church in Ireland
- Monitor child safeguarding practice of constituent members within the Catholic Church in Ireland
In 2021, and in line with best practice, the two sponsoring bodies initiated a major wide-ranging independent external review of child safeguarding in the Catholic Church in Ireland. This review was carried out by the professional services consultancy RSM Ireland, and was published on 4 December 2024. The review evaluated all aspects of safeguarding and outreach to survivors, including the impact and effectiveness of the important work done by the NBSCCCI as well as the two support organisations for survivors, Towards Healing and Towards Peace, and it has been welcomed by the three organisations. The review itself involved desktop research, including literature review and consideration of safeguarding structures and processes in other countries. RSM also consulted widely with key stakeholders including, inter alia, designated liaison persons, safeguarding officers, and representatives from other organisations in Ireland dealing with safeguarding issues. RSM also sought the views of victims and survivors of abuse within the Catholic Church. The final report of the review, and a report of the public consultation with survivors of abuse, are available here: