‘Cult-like’ charity for disabled to close after critical inspections by Colin Coyle, Sunday Times, March 15, 2015

Pilgrim House Community, a religious charity that has been described as “cult-like”, is to close after inspections by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) criticised its standards.
The centre, which cares for intellectually disabled people, has told the HSE, which has given it more than €1m since 2010, that it is closing down because the “regulatory framework is no longer compatible with our voluntary ethos.”

Pilgrim House comes out from being under the radar

HIQA report finds residents’ rights not protected

The inspection was planned to review the action plan put in place following a previous inspection June 2014

http://www.rte.ie/news/2014/1216/667268-pilgrim-house/

A HIQA report into a centre with people with disabilities has found that residents’ rights were not protected in areas such as finance, complaints, advocacy and the promotion of privacy and dignity.

The report into the centre operated by the Pilgrim House Community in Dublin states that a practice of leaving the door ajar so that staff could be observed assisting with personal care meant that residents using a bedroom could also observe.

The report also found that there were no adequate records of residents’ money and valuables.

The overall grant allocation from the Health Service Executive was known, but there was no breakdown or information on how funds were allocated, other than the costs related to the lease of the premises.

This inspection took place over two days within a two week time frame in November of this year.

The purpose of the inspection was to review the action plan from a previous inspection which took place in June 2014.

The inspectors were particularly concerned that none of the agreed actions identified in areas of safeguarding vulnerable adults had been met or progressed as agreed within the action plan response from the June inspection.

Pilgrim House has the capacity to care for five residents.

‘Cult-like’ charity loses tax status Colin Coyle Sunday Times Jan 9, 2011

‘Cult-like’ charity loses tax status

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pilgrim

Colin Coyle Sunday Times Jan 9, 2011

THE Pilgrim House Community, a religious charity that has been described as displaying “cult-like” characteristics, has lost its charitable tax status after the company controlling it was struck off. 

Pilgrim House Documentary

A mysterious and dramatic apology

Irish Times
Saturday, 28 June 2008
CARL O’BRIEN Social Affairs Correspondent
The apology that was published in The Irish Times on Thursday

Religious group stay silent on apology

Irish Times

Friday, 27 June, 2008

CARL O’BRIEN, Social Affairs Correspondent

THE DIRECTORS of a controversial religious community involved in the care of people with disabilities have refused to explain the background to a public apology they published in The Irish Times yesterday. Four directors of the Pilgrim House Community, which is funded by the Health Service Executive, placed a half-page advertisement in yesterday’s paper in which they apologised to the founder of the organisation, Helena O’Leary.