The Irish Table Tennis Association is aware that its former Technical Director, Mr. John O’Donoghue, following a guilty plea, has been recently convicted and sentenced in respect of the possession of illegal material relating to children.
Our primary concern is the safeguarding of our members, especially children and other vulnerable people. With this in mind, we encourage anyone affected by incidents of this nature or anyone with knowledge of such incidents in relation to table tennis activities to contact the appropriate authorities or the Board of the Association. The crimes committed by Mr. O’Donoghue are reprehensible and are counter to our commitment to provide safe and healthy opportunities for children and adults to participate in our sport. Over the next few months, like other sporting organisations, TTI will be issuing a Child Safeguarding Statement, which is a requirement under the new Children First Act. We urge members to make contact, if they have any concerns.
Useful Contact and reporting information
Ireland
ISPCC ChildLine – call 1800 66 66 66
GARDA Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Investigation Unit, call (01) 6663430
TUSLA http://www.tusla.ie/services/child-protection-welfare/contact-a-social-worker
TUSLA RECOMMENDS HOW TO REPORT A CONCERN
Anyone can report a concern about a child. If you have any concerns about a child you should report it to the Child and Family Agency. A report can be made in person, by telephone or in writing.
Any member of the public who has a concern about a child can contact the local social work duty service (http://www.tusla.ie/services/child-protection-welfare/contact-a-social-worker) in the area where the child lives for advice about reporting your concerns.
If a child is in danger outside office hours you can contact the Gardaí.
Northern Ireland
PSNI: Contact the police service on 101, the non-emergency telephone number, where you will be put in contact with a specially trained police officer.
NSPCC Phone 0808 800 5000
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/