abuse could not be determined as records were lost or destroyed. The report stated that a "characteristic of the poor governance that existed in scouting was the existence of a culture driven by self-interest, with little attention paid to the young people involved". There report also noted that there appeared "to have been an almost complete absence of any concern for the young people that were abused" and that, where attempts were made to support abuse victims or those reporting abuse, it was "poorly recorded". The report criticised the emergence of small cliques which played too great a role in the operation of Scouting bodies. Adults with a sexual interest in young people sometimes rose to positions of power and influence and controlled any fledgling accountability processes, preventing known offenders from being removed. The report said "Cronyism thrived and remained a significant problem in scouting up to and including the reviewer's involvement with Scouting Ireland" (in 2017). It also said that the introduction of an accountability framework was resisted and that "Individuals, who were suspected or known to be sex offenders, gained positions of power and became largely impregnable". In his Executive Summary, Ian Elliot said that the existence of a "negative culture driven by self-interest, along with poor governance structures [were] the main cause of the continuation of sexual abuse in scouting". He also wrote that independent monitoring of practise and strict adherence to robust accountability procedures are essential for Scouting Ireland to ensuring that the progress that Scouting Ireland made in this area continues. He wrote that those who volunteer to be Scout leaders should realise that to be a volunteer is a privilege, and that volunteers should expect to have their behaviour scrutinised and commented upon. If a volunteer's behaviour falls below standards, they should be helped raise it above the standard, and if they cannot raise their behaviour that they should leave Scouting. If their behaviour is a risk to young people, this should be reported immediately to statutory authorities. He also wrote that the protection of children is not just the duty of a professional safeguarding team, but of every adult in the organisation. He concluded that Scouting Ireland is a considerable organisation that makes a "valuable contribution to the lives of many in Ireland today", but that the organisation must learn from its history to eliminate abuse and mismanagement and that "The volunteer is