Support Should Be Safe: Why Ireland Needs Standards for Peer Support Groups
When vulnerable people reach out for support, they should never have to fear being harmed by the very communities they turn to.
Following my meeting with the Minister for Health in September 2025, we discussed a wide range of issues affecting women living with endometriosis and other chronic illnesses. Much of the conversation centred around specialist care, the National Endometriosis Framework, and the future of women’s healthcare in Ireland.
But there was another issue I raised then, and one I have continued to raise with the Minister’s office, TDs and Senators since the publication of the Framework.
It is time to have a national conversation about the regulation and governance of peer support groups.
Peer support can be life-changing. For many people living with chronic illness, infertility, mental health conditions, disability, trauma and gender-based violence, these communities are often the first place they turn when they feel isolated. They should be places of compassion, confidentiality and trust.
Unfortunately, that has not always been my experience.
Over the past number of years, I have experienced online abuse within spaces that should have been safe. I experienced it within our own WhatsApp support group before we paused it to introduce stronger safeguarding measures. I experienced it within other WhatsApp support groups. I also experienced it within closed Facebook communities dedicated to endometriosis in Ireland, where anonymous posts and defamatory comments about me were permitted to remain visible. Those experiences reinforced for me just how vulnerable people can be when they seek support online.
When someone joins a support group, they do so at one of the most vulnerable moments of their lives. They deserve to know that what they share will be treated with dignity and respect.
No one should have to worry that their words will become the subject of ridicule elsewhere, that screenshots could be be shared without their consent, or that participating honestly could expose them to criticism or humiliation.
That is not peer support.
That is a failure of safeguarding.
Earlier this year, in February 2026, I made the difficult decision to pause the Cneasù Ireland WhatsApp support group while we reviewed how we wanted to move forward. It was not a decision taken lightly. However, I believed it was more important to temporarily pause than to continue without stronger structures to protect every member.
As we rebuild Cneasù Ireland, we are introducing clearer governance, trained facilitation, safeguarding principles, confidentiality expectations and respectful participation guidelines. Creating genuinely safe spaces requires more than good intentions—it requires structure.
This conversation extends far beyond endometriosis.
Across Ireland there are hundreds of informal support groups covering women’s health, men’s health, mental health, chronic illness, disability, fertility, bereavement and trauma. Many are run by dedicated volunteers doing extraordinary work, often with little recognition or support.
However, there is currently no consistent national standard for what constitutes a safe peer support environment.
Questions that deserve consideration include:
What safeguarding policies should every peer support group have?
Should facilitators receive recognised training?
How should confidentiality and privacy be protected?
What should happen when bullying, harassment or online abuse occurs within these communities?
What due diligence should public bodies undertake before recommending or promoting support groups?
How can participants be confident they are joining an organisation with appropriate governance and accountability?
These are not criticisms of peer support.
They are questions about protecting it.
Support groups save lives. They reduce isolation, create community and provide hope during some of life’s most difficult moments. That is precisely why they deserve the same level of thought, care and safeguarding that we expect elsewhere.
Ireland has made significant progress in recognising the importance of patient voices and lived experience. The National Endometriosis Framework acknowledges the value of support networks. As we continue to improve healthcare, we should also be asking how we ensure those support networks are safe, inclusive and accountable.
People should never have to choose between suffering alone and risking further harm within the communities designed to support them.
If we truly believe in patient-centred care, then psychological safety within peer support spaces must become part of that conversation.
Because support should heal.
It should never harm.
A Call for Action
As part of my wider campaign for better healthcare, patient safety and accountability, I am calling on the Department of Health to work alongside patient organisations, safeguarding specialists, mental health professionals and people with lived experience to develop national guidance and minimum standards for peer support groups operating within health-related spaces in Ireland.
This should include clear safeguarding policies, facilitator training, confidentiality standards, complaints procedures, governance guidance and minimum expectations for any group being promoted as a place of support.
I also believe there should be consideration of the due diligence undertaken before public bodies, healthcare professionals or elected representatives recommend support groups to patients. People deserve to know that when they are directed towards a support community, it is one that prioritises their wellbeing, privacy and dignity.
Support groups have the power to change lives. They can reduce isolation, provide hope and remind people that they are not alone.
Every person seeking support deserves to know they are entering a safe, respectful and accountable environment.
Because healing begins with trust.
And trust begins with safety.
Why This Matters
This is one of the many reasons I remain passionate about calling for a National Inquiry into Endometriosis Care in Ireland.
A National Inquiry should not only examine diagnostic delays, access to specialist care, waiting lists and treatment pathways. It should also consider the wider patient experience, including where women are directed for information, community and support once they leave the consulting room.
We cannot claim to have effective support if there is no consistent assurance that the spaces patients are encouraged to join are safe, appropriately facilitated and underpinned by clear safeguarding standards.
Every person living with endometriosis deserves access to support that protects their dignity, respects their privacy and prioritises their wellbeing.
That is why I will continue advocating for national standards, accountability and meaningful reform—not only within healthcare, but within the wider ecosystem of patient support.
If you support this vision, I invite you to read more about the campaign and sign the petition calling for a National Inquiry into Endometriosis Care in Ireland:
Real change begins when we are willing to ask difficult questions.
Safe healthcare must include safe support.
Every patient deserves both.