The Religious Order of St John of God has announced its members are to step away entirely from governance roles in institutions it runs in Ireland and throughout its West European Province.
The province is one of 24 that make up the Hospitaller Order of St John of God, and includes Ireland, the UK, the Netherlands and Africa.
In a statement on Tuesday, it said it had “long recognised the need and desire for lay people to exercise greater leadership roles in the governance of the works and services of the West European Province”.
It has 14 members in Ireland, 12 of whom are over 80.
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Working in partnership with State and voluntary agencies, its services support more than 12,000 children, adolescents and adults, with 3,500 staff and 420 volunteers. It has been providing such services in Ireland for more than 140 years.
Following a dispute, in February of 2024 the HSE eventually reached agreement with St John of God Community Services to enable it to continue providing intellectual disability and mental health services in Ireland.
St John of God Community Services, part of the wider St John of God Hospitaller Services Group (SJOG HSG), has been funded by the HSE to provide such services to children and adults on behalf of the State. It had been in negotiations with the HSE for several years over what it said was a significant shortfall in its funding.
In January 2024 it told the HSE that if it did not secure a bailout of more than €30 million, it would have to hand over responsibility to run its community services to the State.
In early February 2024 the organisation gave notice to the HSE that it intended to cease providing services by the middle of August 2024 following a “failure” to come to an agreement on funding, after which agreement was arrived at.
[ St John of God reaches deal with HSE to continue providing community servicesOpens in new window ]
In 2020 it had also threatened to discontinue providing its services but, following an appeal, it paused that decision and entered into negotiations around future funding.
Over recent decades the Order put in place structures involving lay people to ensure “continuation of the works and services being delivered by the various St John of God entities including those focused on disability and mental health”, it said in Tuesday’s statement.
It also welcomed the appointment of Jerry Dempsey as new chief executive of the overall SJOG HSG and wished him well in the role.
In a separate statement on Tuesday the SJOG HSG said Mr Dempsey “brings over 25 years of executive management experience” to the role, having worked in “healthcare services, pharmaceuticals and environmental services in Ireland, the UK, and the USA”.
It said the next phase of the transition process will see the remaining Irish and UK brothers now step down from the SJOG HSG and SJOG Malawi boards and transition off all remaining entity boards by the end of 2025.
“This will mark a pivotal moment in the organisation’s evolution, entrusting leadership and governance fully in the hands of committed lay people,” it said.
The entities under the SJOG Group are: St John of God Community Services; St John of God Hospital, Stillorgan, Co Dublin; St John of God Foundation (Fundraising); St John of God Research Foundation; the St John of God Hospitaller Services Great Britain; Good Shepherd, Wolverhampton in the UK; St John of God Hospitaller Services in Malawi.
The Order extended its “deep and heartfelt thanks to all in the wider St John of God family for their ongoing contributions, hard work and commitment to delivering the mission and meeting the wellbeing needs of the people who access services and their families”.
