Every adult has the right to be safe and to live free from abuse. If your staff or volunteers have contact with adults who may be at risk, such as people with a disability, older people who need care, or people who are seriously ill, your organisation has a duty to protect them.
Last reviewed 30 October 2026. This is general guidance, not legal advice.
What’s new: the national framework
In December 2025 the Department of Health published Ireland’s first National Policy Framework for Adult Safeguarding in the Health and Social Care Sector. It applies to public, voluntary and private health and social care providers.
Under the framework, providers are expected to assess risks, publish an adult safeguarding statement, train their staff, and report concerns in certain circumstances. The Government has approved drafting a Safeguarding Bill to put this on a legal footing, but it has not yet become law.
If your organisation provides health or social care, read the framework now. If it doesn’t, the framework is still a good guide to what good practice looks like.
Who is an adult at risk?
The framework uses the term “adults at risk”. Older guidance and the Garda vetting law use “vulnerable person”. The vetting law describes a vulnerable person as an adult whose mental illness or dementia, intellectual disability, or physical impairment or disability limits their ability to protect themselves from harm, or means they need help with daily living.
Risk also depends on circumstances. Someone who is homeless, for example, is not automatically an adult at risk, but they may be in a situation that makes them one.
Types of abuse
- Physical: hitting, pushing, misuse of medication, restraint
- Sexual: any sexual act the person has not consented to, or could not consent to
- Psychological: threats, humiliation, controlling behaviour, isolation
- Financial: theft, fraud, pressure about wills or property, misuse of benefits
- Neglect: ignoring care needs, or withholding medication, food or heating
- Discriminatory: abuse based on age, race, sex, disability or other grounds
- Organisational: poor standards of care or rigid routines in a service or care setting
What your organisation should do
- Have a written safeguarding policy and a clear procedure for responding to concerns.
- Assess the risks in each role and activity that involves adults at risk.
- Name a person who receives and acts on safeguarding concerns.
- Train staff and volunteers to recognise abuse and know what to do.
- Get Garda vetting for roles that need it. Our vetting service can help smaller organisations.
- Keep records, and review your policy regularly.
Trustees are responsible for making sure a charity meets its legal duties. The Charities Regulator’s safeguarding guidance for charities working with vulnerable adults (2020) explains how this links to the Charities Governance Code.
Reporting a concern
- If someone is in immediate danger, call 999 or 112.
- For other concerns, follow your organisation’s procedure and contact the HSE Safeguarding and Protection Team for the area. Safeguarding Ireland lists the contact details for each team.
Useful resources
- National Policy Framework for Adult Safeguarding (Department of Health, 2025)
- Safeguarding Ireland
- HSE adult safeguarding
- Charities Regulator safeguarding guidance (adults)
Questions? Email support@volunteerdublincity.ie or call 01 473 7482.