tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80124892721124630472024-03-14T03:36:58.620-07:00Governance Reform At Irish Red CrossThis blog deals with the crisis at the Irish Red Cross, both governance, managerial and financial. Its purpose is to inform the broad membership of the organisation about the extent of the problems, to encourage debate and to identify solutions in order to secure the organisation's future.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger110125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012489272112463047.post-19298296386052251732012-05-16T04:04:00.000-07:002012-05-25T11:13:46.608-07:00GovernanceReformAtIrishRedCross.blogspot.com's concluding article<br />
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On Tuesday 29<sup>th</sup>
December 2009 the GovernanceReformAtIrishRedCross blog was created and the
first article written. Today, 16<sup>th</sup> May 2012, this article will be its last.</div>
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Since that first article
was published 870 days have passed. The Blog has straddled four calendar
years. 110 articles have been written. 1,232 comments have been posted. The
Blog has been viewed 102,697 times (at time of writing), an average of 118
views a day every day for two and a half years. The Blog’s 110 articles will
remain in existence for perpetuity. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span">On
the 8<sup>th</sup> May 2012 the Minister for Justice and Defence, Mr. Alan
Shatter, appointed two external people to the Central Council (General
Assembly) of the Irish Red Cross for a three year term. The credentials,
expertise and knowledge of both are impressive. Mr. Máirtín O Fainín is a
former career Ambassador (Australia, Argentina, Uganda, Zambia amongst others) with
the Department of Foreign Affairs. He is currently a member of the Advisory
Committee of the Combined Services Third World Fund. Ms. Mary Flaherty, a former Fine Gael TD from
Dublin and Minister for State at the Department of Social Welfare during the
1980s is currently Chief Executive of the CARI Foundation. During her political
career Ms. Flaherty was also Fine Gael spokesperson on Development Affairs and
worked closely with European colleagues to keep Africa high on the EU’s political
agenda. It is not yet clear whether Mr. Fainín and/or Ms. Flaherty intend to
put themselves forward for the Society's Executive Committee (Board of Directors). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span">The
upcoming appointments to the positions of Chairperson, Vice Chairperson,
Honorary Secretary, Honorary Treasurer, new Executive Committee (Board of
Directors), and five additional external nominees (3 to Central Council and 2
to the Executive Committee) will be finalised on 26<sup>th</sup> May at the
upcoming Central Council/General Assembly meeting. The new National Director of
Units position has been awarded to Tony Lawlor, current National Vice Chairman.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span">Readers
may be wondering why this is the last Blog article. After five years
(2005-2010) working for the Irish Red Cross as Head of the International
Department and nearly thirty months (December 2009-May 2012) writing the Blog
now is an appropriate time to pass the baton. I have also concluded a
settlement with the Irish Red Cross concerning my dismissal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span">As
this is the last Blog article it is important to note that there are a number
of people who have assisted me throughout the last few years. I will not name
them all here but they know who they are. At many difficult junctures they provided
me with the strength and fortitude to keep going. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span">On
a final note I owe a great depth of gratitude to my inspirational parents,
brothers and sisters, my girlfriend, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, extended
family members and friends for their unflinching support and encouragement.
They have, without any shadow of a doubt, been my backbone and the mainstay of
my determination to continue. I thank them all most sincerely and from the
bottom of my heart.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span">Noel
Wardick<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span">Clontarf,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span">Dublin,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span">Ireland.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The world is round and the place which
may seem like the end may also be the beginning-</i></span><span class="apple-style-span">Ivy B Priest<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">Note<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012489272112463047.post-82724229545169880592012-05-08T04:30:00.000-07:002012-05-08T04:30:00.735-07:00Irish Red Cross at a crossroads<br />
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The month of May 2012 presents the Irish Red Cross with
two very different roads, the consequences of each hugely significant. The
decision on which road to take will be before the Central Council of the Irish
Red Cross at its meeting at the end of May (rumoured to be 26<sup>th</sup>).
One decision will perpetuate the endless crisis at the Society and the other
will open up the way to a brighter and scandal free future.</div>
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For the first time in its 73 year history the Irish Red
Cross will get to choose its own Chairperson. Since 1939 the Irish Government
has previously had the honours. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
Society must therefore choose wisely and carefully. The closed, secretive and
non transparent process to date does not bode well. One can only hope the
internal Nominations Committee, tasked with identifying a number of suitable candidates,
is busy at work. The concern is that the decision has already been made and the
Fianna Fail appointed incumbent, David O’ Callaghan, will be given a three year
extension.</div>
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In addition to electing a new Chairperson the Central
Council will appoint the Honorary Vice Chairman, Honorary Secretary, Honorary
Treasurer as well as the remainder of the Executive Committee (now with the new
grand title of Board of Directors). The current Honorary Treasurer and Honorary
Secretary are Fianna Fail government nominees and their terms of office expired
on April 30th. They will unlikely be re-appointed by a Fine Gael/Labour
Coalition. They can, however, be elected onto Central Council via their
respective Red Cross Areas and presumably they will explore this option. </div>
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The current Vice Chairman has served in the role for 21
years and in doing so has breached all good corporate governance practice. Given
the many calls for his resignation he may well be forced to finally step down
but as some have posted on the blog the crumbs of consolation may be his
appointment as National Director of Units. No matter how its dressed up though
the National Director of Units will never carry the same standing, stature,
prestige, honour or seniority as the Vice Chairman role. </div>
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If the Central Council wishes to go backwards and
maintain the damaging status quo they will re-elect the ‘old reliables’. This
will satisfy a number of insatiable egos but do nothing for the future of the
Irish Red Cross. It is well past time for passing the baton on to the next
generation of Irish Red Cross leaders. Of course if the current batch refuses
to go they will be forced, within time, to step down anyway for three full
years thanks to the newly passed Irish Red Cross Constitution. Now that its law
even the old Ruling Elite will not be able to avoid at least three years in the
wilderness.</div>
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To secure the future of the Irish Red Cross the Society
needs in place by the end of May a new Chairperson, a new Vice Chairperson, a
new Secretary, a new Treasurer and a number of new persons elected to the
Executive Committee. The Nominations Committee can also appoint three external
people to the Central Council and the new Chairperson can appoint two external
people directly to the Executive Committee. The selection of these five people
will be absolutely critical as will the four government nominees chosen by
Minister Alan Shatter. The road to modernity, competence, professionalism,
openness, transparency and accountability is now wide open and waiting for the
Irish Red Cross to drive down it. It’s up to members of Central Council whether
they take it or instead reverse back down the well travelled Irish Red Cross
road of shame, incompetence, negligence, misuse of resources, poor governance
and financial irregularities.</div>
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<b>On a separate matter:</b></div>
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Under the new Irish Red Cross Constitution the number of
Central Council representatives an Area is entitled to is determined by the
size of its Area membership. As such great care needs to be taken in how
membership numbers are calculated and recorded. The integrity of the Society will
be forever compromised if membership lists and numbers are ever in any shape or
form manipulated or tampered with. The Irish Red Cross should consider having
random and regular independent audits of membership lists to guarantee their
bone fides.</div>
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The Blog has received feedback that certain Areas have
inflated their membership numbers over and above what they really are. The Blog
has been informed that at least one Area, in order to increase its membership,
approached the Defibrillator Groups in its Area which it previously trained and
advised these groups that if the Group made a donation to the Irish Red Cross
every member of the Group would be made a member of the Irish Red Cross.
Individual membership fees were not paid nor requested. As a result of this increased
‘membership’ it is reported the Area is now entitled to an increase in number
of Central Council representatives. The Blog has no confirmation that this has happened apart from a verbal report from a reliable source but nevertheless feels it important to bring it to the attention of readers.</div>
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The Irish Times of Tuesday 8<sup>th</sup> May 2012
carries a full page (3 articles) on the Government’s upcoming Whistleblowing
legislation. One of the articles has a picture of Noel Wardick, former Head of
International at the Irish Red Cross, and is titled <b>Cost of Blowing the
Whistle-The case of Noel Wardick.</b></div>
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<i>At every crossroads on the path that leads to the future,
tradition has placed 10,000 men to guard the past</i>-Maurice Maeterlink</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012489272112463047.post-8692101753871633902012-04-24T08:14:00.000-07:002012-04-24T08:14:56.643-07:00Mystery surrounds the appointment of new Irish Red Cross Chairperson<br />
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For the first time it its 73 year history the Irish Red
Cross will, during the month of May, appoint its own Chairperson. Since the
founding of the Irish Red Cross in 1939 the Irish Government has always
appointed the Chairperson.</div>
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Following the recent approval by the Government of a new
Irish Red Cross Constitution the honour of appointing the Chairperson now falls
to the governing Central Council of the Society. The obligation on the Irish
Red Cross to therefore carry out the selection and appointment process in an
open, transparent, fair and accountable manner is obvious.</div>
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How has the Irish Red Cross faired so far then? Well an organisation
steeped in a culture of secrecy, misgovernance, financial irregularities,
cronyism and misuse of donor money doesn’t change its spots easily. Despite the
appointment of a new Chairperson being only weeks away there has been no public
vacancy announcement and no information or details provided on the Irish Red
Cross website. It is not clear what, if any, application process applies and
how one can put forward suitably qualified interested candidates. Such secrecy
and lack of transparency doesn’t exactly shout to the world ‘we are committed
to change and henceforth we will amend our ways’.</div>
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The Irish Red Cross has apparently appointed a five
person insider Nominations Committee, three from the Executive Committee and
two from the Central Council, to oversee the mysterious process. The three
individuals appointed from the Executive Committee would best be described as ‘status
quo loyalists’ so the two individuals from the Central Council will have their
work cut out if they have any interest in appointing a chairperson committed to
real change. Nowhere on the Irish Red Cross website is the name of these five
individuals and their contact details revealed. The culture of secrecy
prevails.</div>
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It remains unclear if the Nominations Committee will put
forward a number of names on which Central Council members will vote at their
May Central Council meeting or if they will submit one name to be crowned on
the day. </div>
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Just to mention one of the ‘sweeping’ changes under the
new Irish Red Cross constitution is the name change of Central Council to
General Assembly. One can only imagine the dramatic impact this new name will
lead to! Those familiar with the Irish Red Cross know that the rewriting of the
constitution began over twelve years ago so it’s encouraging to see that twelve
years work has led to such fundamental change as a new name for the Central
Council.</div>
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This Blog is not a big gambling fan but if it was to put
a few Euros on who the next Chairperson of the Irish Red Cross will be the
money would be on the existing Fianna Fail appointed Chairman, David O’
Callaghan. His term of office expires on April 30<sup>th</sup>, six days from
now and he has not publicly indicated his desire to step down. This combined
with the Irish Red Cross failure to announce the vacancy and invite
applications in an open, accountable and transparent manner leads the Blog to
believe Mr. O’Callaghan wants to be given another term in office. If that is
the case the Blog has no doubt the compliant Central Council (sorry General
Assembly) will oblige and his coronation will be complete by the end of May. If
that happens long serving board members can breathe a sigh of relief as Mr. O’Callaghan
has gone out of his way to publicly praise and endorse those with the longest board
service and who would have most to lose in the event of a new reforming chair
being appointed.</div>
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Silence also surrounds the appointment of the first
National Director of Units. The closing date for applications was 31<sup>st</sup>
March 2012 so presumably an announcement should be imminent. Many comments on
the Blog have been advocating for a ‘non-insider’ female to be appointed to
break the appalling gender imbalance within the governance structures of the
Society and to put a hole in the culture of cronyism endemic to the organisation.</div>
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As mentioned above the new Irish Red Cross constitution
was approved by the Government last week. In fairness the new rules have a
number of positives and as well as many negatives. The main positive is that
despite every attempt by long serving board members to delay and minimise
governance reform strenuous lobbying by a number of individuals scuppered their
efforts. As a result there is now a maximum limit on the number of years any
individual can serve on the Executive Committee (now called the Board of
Directors, another of those sweeping changes!). This will ensure obscene
amounts of service such as Tony Lawlor’s 21 years as Vice Chair will never ever
be allowed happen again. This must be acknowledged as a big positive. It will
hopefully protect future generations of the Irish Red Cross from the damage
caused by poor governance that has been sadly inflicted on the Society over the
past twenty years. No Executive Committee member going forward will be allowed
serve more than two three year terms (six years) in office without having to
take a mandatory three year break. This will ensure no individual ever again
gets a strangle hold on the Society to the extent current long serving board
members have. </div>
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It should be remembered that those responsible for
putting forward governance reform proposals did everything to minimise this
mandatory break. The first draft constitution put forward reluctantly
recommended only a one year break. This was endorsed by the compliant and acquiescent
Central Council. Following an enormous amount of lobbying which resulted in a
letter to the Irish Red Cross from Minister for Justice and Defence, Alan
Shatter, in May 2011, the powers that be at the Society introduced a three year
‘not really mandatory’ break where one had to step down for three years after
six years service but only if someone else was nominated for the position. If no-one
else went forward for the position then an individual could serve a third three
year term, a fourth term and so on indefinitely. The compliant and acquiescent
Central Council approved this amended version. More lobbying followed and
finally the game was up for the Irish Red Cross.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The clause allowing indefinite terms of
office if no-one else went forward for the position was removed. The compliant
and acquiescent Central Council approved this third attempt at proper
governance reform at its 10<sup>th</sup> March 2012 meeting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As such a three year break after six years
service on the Executive Committee is now MANDATORY with NO exceptions. This must
be acknowledged as very positive and a direct result of sustained advocacy and
lobbying.</div>
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There are a number of critical weaknesses in the new
constitution. First and foremost it does not take into account cumulative
service on the board to date. While the new constitution is clearly stating
that serving no more than six years on the Executive Committee followed by a
three year mandatory break is good practice such a philosophy will not be
applied to those excessively long serving board members such as the Vice
Chairman and Treasurer. This means that despite having already served 21 years
as Vice Chairman the current incumbent, if he is re-appointed, will be permitted
to serve for another six years before having no option but to step down from
the board. The positive is this individual will, at most, in six years time be
off the board for a minimum period of three years. The negative is we may have
to wait six years for this to happen. If, however, the Irish Red Cross
membership are sensible, prudent and genuinely committed to good governance
long serving board members will not be reappointed in May and a six year wait
for their departure will be unnecessary. </div>
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Another key weakness in the new constitution is the
absence of any maximum length of service and/or mandatory breaks for Central
Council (General Assembly) members. This means Central Council members can
effectively serve for life (indefinite three year terms) in breach of accepted
good governance practice. It is to be remembered that the Central Council is
the highest deliberative authority of the Irish Red Cross, to which the
Executive Committee reports. The failure by the Irish Red Cross leadership and
the Department of Defence to insist on mandatory breaks from Central Council
similar to that which now applies to the Executive Committee diminishes
substantially the overall standing of the new constitution. </div>
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Despite the obvious deficiencies in the new Constitution
(and only two have been referred to in this article) the mandatory three year
break from the Executive Committee with no exceptions is a significant development.
Its approval by the Government is a substantial defeat for those in the Irish
Red Cross who fought tooth and nail to prevent it ever happening. It will in
time inflict a serious blow to their power bases and henceforth they will never
again hold the same sway, power, influence and control over the Society as they
have done for the last twenty years. These individuals surely realise that
during their enforced three year absence from the Executive Committee, whether
that period commences in 2012, in 2018 or somewhere in between, that swift and
decisive moves will be made to ensure their stranglehold on the organisation is
finally broken. Should they return to the Executive Committee after their
forced three year exile they will find a changed environment, an altered
context and the influx of individuals during their absence who are prepared to
challenge them and prevent their return to dominance ever again.</div>
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Much effort and many sacrifices have been made by
numerous individuals to drag the Irish Red Cross kicking and screaming towards
reform. Those guilty of wrongdoing have yet to be held to account but their
disgraceful actions and incompetence are all now on public record and the truth
has been exposed for all to see. </div>
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Without the efforts of those committed to reform there
would be no three year mandatory break from the Executive Committee, the power
of long serving board members would not have been substantially weakened and
the suffocating hand on the throat of the Irish Red Cross would have grown
tighter not looser. Much work remains to be done but it is clear the truth,
when exposed and combined with determination, can and does force positive
change. It can be painfully slow but over time persistence pays off and will
bear fruit. </div>
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Like any good gardener will tell you the de-weeding
process never ends, you must always remain vigilant and if you want your garden
to bloom you must never stop.</div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">To rid the grass of weed, to get <br />
The whole root, <br />
Thick, tangled, takes a strong mind <o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">And desire -- to make clean, make pure. <br />
The weed, tough <br />
As the rock it leaps against, <o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Unless plucked to the last <br />
Live fiber <br />
Will plunge up through dark again. <o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Lucien Stryk,<em><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></em>1924-<em><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The Rocks of Sesshu, And Still Birds Sing, </span></em>1998<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012489272112463047.post-17581439795987574242012-03-31T01:07:00.001-07:002012-03-31T01:07:00.718-07:00Irish Red Cross evidence to Parliamentary Committee continues to be challenged<p class="MsoNormal">On 16th March 2012 Noel Wardick, former Head of the International Department at the Irish Red Cross, continued to challenge evidence the Irish Red Cross provided to the Dail's Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on the 19th January 2012 and in subsequent letters it sent to the PAC. Mr. Wardick's letter is published in its entirety below.</p><p class="MsoNormal">On a separate matter the position of Chairperson at the Irish Red Cross becomes vacant in April. For the first time in the Society's history the incoming Chairperson will not be appointed by the Irish Government but instead will be appointed by the Central Council (governing board of the Irish Red Cross). </p><p class="MsoNormal">The Irish Red Cross has established a five person Nominations Committee (3 from the Executive Committee and 2 from the Central Council) which is tasked with identifying a number of suitably qualified candidates. Once identified the role of the Nominations Committee is to recommend a number of names to the Central Council who will then vote to determine who is appointed Chair for the next three years.</p><p class="MsoNormal">As is the norm with the Irish Red Cross the new process of appointing the Chairperson is shrouded in secrecy and distinctly lacking in transparency. The names of the Nomination Committee have not been forwarded to all members and volunteers and the process for submitting applications to the Nominations Committee has not yet been outlined or articulated. No information on the matter is available on the Society's website. Could it be that the ruling elite of the Irish Red Cross already know who the new Chairperson will be and as such are not actively seeking applications? Is someone about to be 'crowned' Chairperson as opposed to being genuinely, openly and transparently elected? </p><p class="MsoNormal">The appointment of a Chairperson in April/May of this year presents the Irish Red Cross with the perfect opportunity to begin the process of true reform and renewal. Should an individual of real independence, capability, integrity, professionalism, courage, energy and competence be appointed the Society will have taken a great leap forward in rebuilding its tarnished reputation. </p><p class="MsoNormal">In addition to the Chairperson the positions of Vice Chair, Treasurer and Secretary also become vacant in April and it is critical for the Society that all three incumbents are replaced. The current Treasurer and Secretary are government nominees appointed by the former and now disgraced Fianna Fail government. It is unlikely either will feature in Minister Shatter's four appointments to the Central Council. All other positions on the Executive Committee become vacant in April and as such members of the Central Council have an opportunity to replace the jaded, staid and ineffective group currently in place. The re-appointment of incumbents will only serve to consign the Irish Red Cross to endless years of under performance, stagnation and reduced funding.</p><p class="MsoNormal">March 31st sees the closing date for applications for the newly created voluntary position of National Director of Units (NDU). All branches have previously been served with application forms, a detailed job description and submission procedures. The NDU will automatically have a seat on Central Council thereby making the individual eligible for election to Executive Committee. It can only be hoped the person appointed will be capable, independent and not a crony of the current leadership. Fresh blood, vigor and new ideas are required. The Blog concurs with the many comments that were posted advocating the appointment of a female NDU in order to address the inexcusable gender imbalance within the governance of the Society. Should a female candidate be appointed it is, however, of critical importance that the individual not be one of the current power obsessed cabal that control the Society. The same applies to the appointment of the new Chairperson.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Noel Wardick's letter to PAC follows:</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">16<sup>th</sup> March 2012</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">Mr. John McGuinness TD,</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">Chairman,</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">Public Accounts Committee,</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">Leinster House,</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">Kildare Street,</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">Dublin 2.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">Dear Chairman,</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">Reference previous correspondence from me to the PAC, in particular my letter of 25<sup>th</sup> February 2012 and the letter from the Irish Red Cross, of 14<sup>th</sup> March 2012, signed by Mr. Donal Forde, Secretary General.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">I wish to make a number of important observations and comments on IRC’s letter which are necessary once again to ensure inaccuracies are corrected and to ensure the public record contains correct and exact information. </p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">I am, however, conscious that the PAC has already invested a considerable amount of time on examining the situation at the Irish Red Cross and I am anxious to avoid overburdening the Committee with an endless series of ‘he said, she said’ correspondence. Nevertheless this is a matter of public interest as it involves an organisation in receipt of substantial monies from the Government and from the Irish public. I believe the public record must record the facts and where attempts are made to distort such facts the public record must be protected and those facts stated on public record and done so numerous times if necessary.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">I note from the transcripts of the PAC meeting held on 8<sup>th</sup> March 2012 that the members are considering inviting a number of individuals before the Committee who have not appeared before it to-date. This is a most welcome development and once again I state my willingness to appear and be questioned on public record. More importantly I also note the PAC would appear to have determined that the best way of getting the answers it and the general public require is to have the Irish Red Cross independently investigated. I and others have advocated for a long time that a full independent investigation into the Irish Red Cross is required and that until such an investigation is held the Irish Red Cross will remain mired in secrecy and controversy. An independent investigation, chaired by an individual of the highest calibre, integrity and repute with no past or current connection whatsoever to either the Irish Red Cross, the International Red Cross or the Department of Defence, is the only way the true facts will emerge. Such an investigation, if properly implemented with a focus on true accountability, putting the facts on public record, and mapping a way forward would have real potential to bring years of turmoil, misgovernance and dysfunction at the Society to an end.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">It is important to note that in the last number of years there have been numerous calls for an independent investigation into the Irish Red Cross. Such calls have been made at varying times by Fine Gael, Labour, Independents and Transparency International. In addition the Comptroller and Auditor General has examined financial irregularities at the Irish Red Cross and allocated a full chapter (32) to the Society in his 2010 Annual Report. Necessary reform of the Society was included in the Fine Gael and Labour 2011 election manifestos and is clearly stated as a policy objective in the Coalition’s Program for Government. The Society was investigated by RTE’s Prime Time in August 2010, there has been hundreds of Parliamentary Questions from parties of every hue and colour and the Society has been the subject of two full PAC hearings and discussed at subsequent hearings. As such the PAC joins a long list of individuals, groups and organisations that are deeply concerned about what is happening at the Irish Red Cross. The decision by PAC to consider the need for an independent investigation is therefore welcome and timely. Its findings will also hopefully serve as a road map to a much desired and wished for recovery.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">In relation to the Irish Red Cross (IRC) letter of 14<sup>th</sup> March 2012 to PAC I wish to put the following on public record:</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">What is most striking about the IRC letter is the absence of commentary on a number of key points which I made in my letter of 25<sup>th</sup> February 2012. I think the silence of IRC on these issues is more revealing than their denials and statements on other issues.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">In relation to the Tipperary Tsunami Bank account IRC states “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">We do not wish to comment further on the Tipperary account references at this point”. </i></b>Given that IRC gave incorrect, false and inaccurate information to the Dail Public Accounts Committee on this issue and given that the Chairman of the PAC, at the meeting of 8<sup>th</sup> March 2012, stated in relation to IRC “We need to review this correspondence on the Red Cross because, among other issues raised, the Committee may have been misled” it is probably unsurprising that IRC wishes to disengage discussion on this matter. It is in their interests to do so but contrary to the interests of the Irish public.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">I stand over all my previous correspondence submitted to PAC on the Tipperary Bank Account.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">In relation to the undisclosed Banagher Branch bank account the IRC appears to miss the point completely. In my submission to PAC I referred to the €8,058 as an overdraft. IRC explain in their recent letter to PAC this was a term loan and not an overdraft. This is pedantic irrelevance by IRC. An overdraft is a short term loan and a term loan a longer one. That is not the point. The issue is that the Banagher branch failed to declare this bank account to IRC Head Office as per IRC Financial Policy. The Banagher account was one of 49 undisclosed bank accounts discovered in early 2008. The fact that the Banagher branch took out a term loan of €8,058 and did not declare the account to head office until a secret audit discovered it would be a matter of serious concern in any well functioning organisation. When IRC states in its letter “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Banagher Branch was not in breach of any IRC policies as Mr. Wardick has suggested</i></b>” they are simply incorrect. Not declaring a bank account (and one with a loan on it) is a serious breach of IRC policy. It is therefore important to know who were the signatories of this account, were any of them members of IRC governance and what action if any was taken for this breach of policy.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">In their letter IRC have a full section on Financial Accounts of the Society. I do not intend to repeat at length what I have stated in detail in previous submissions other than to state that I stand over everything previously submitted. In their most recent letter IRC, once again, fails to address the FACT that as an organisation IRC has never once in its 72 history conducted a full organisational wide external audit as they are OBLIGED to do under their own Rules of the Society. The IRC is in breach of its own rules by restricting its annual audit to its head office only. By doing so its 145 Branches, 26 Areas and 4 Regions, which have millions of Euros of publicly donated money on their books, have never been formally externally audited and consolidated into one set of national Irish Red Cross accounts. It is inexplicable that an organisation would not be externally audited in its entirety. IRC’s auditors, who are the subject of an investigation by the Chartered Accountants Regulatory Board (CARB) because of their handling of the IRC audit, have confirmed in writing that the IRC is in breach of its own rules by not conducting a full organisational wide audit. This can be provided to PAC if required.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">In relation to the satisfaction or otherwise of the auditors vis a vis IRC accounts I refer again to the statement by the IRC Secretary General at the 19<sup>th</sup> January 2012 PAC hearing where he stated the auditors were “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">unconditionally and absolutely</b>” satisfied with the Society. Any examination of the management letters written by the auditors, BDO, over the last number of years, which the Comptroller and Auditor General also referenced in his 2010 annual report, would clearly contradict this view. Very serious concerns were raised by the auditors in these letters. I would also make the point that the list of discredited audit reports that have materialised in Ireland and overseas in recent years raise serious questions about the reliability of any audit statement that says ‘a true and fair’ view. As an example I have no doubt the audit report of AIB in 2007, 2008 etc presented the bank’s accounts as ‘true and fair’ but despite this the actual reality of spectacular mismanagement, greed and incompetence was not revealed, disclosed or referenced.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>As we now know AIB had to be bailed out to the tune of billions of Euros by the Irish taxpayer in order to prevent a systemic collapse of the Irish banking system. Other notable examples of companies that received a ‘true and fair’ statement from their auditors include Enron, Lehman Brothers, Anglo Irish Bank, Irish Nationwide etc etc, all now bust. In addition and to demonstrate the point that audited accounts of organisations are no longer considered sufficiently reliable when determining the overall financial health and capacity of an organisation Irish Aid, as part of its funding application process, requests copies of both audited accounts AND auditors management letters.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">The Irish Red Cross accepts that it does not prepare its accounts based on the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) for Charities. Addressing this has been long overdue and the failure to implement SORP reflects poorly on the financial capacity of the Society. It is now standard practice for charities to prepare their accounts in compliance with SORP and many Irish charities have been doing so for years. The Irish Red Cross has been in breach of SORP in relation to its property portfolio because of its failure to disclose the majority of its properties in its financial statements. This breach is recorded and noted in the externally audited accounts which IRC continually reminds us are a “true and fair” view of the Society. In addition the Irish Red Cross has been a recipient of Irish Aid funding over a number of years. It is my understanding, and I stand corrected if I am wrong, that recipients of Irish Aid funding must prepare their accounts according to SORP standards.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">Regarding the Haiti earthquake appeal the IRC continues to insist they did not incorrectly allocate over €600,000 to their general domestic fund instead of the Haiti appeal. As Head of the International Department of the Irish Red Cross at the time I stand over my claim that they did. It was morally and ethically wrong of Irish Red Cross to do so. The IRC letter states that “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">our unattributable donors are systematically challenged to establish their wishes or preferences and monies that remain unattributable to a specific cause are then allocated to an unrestricted fund</i></b>”. If in issuing this statement IRC is implying that during the Haiti earthquake appeal donors who contributed unspecified income were “systematically” contacted to determine where exactly they wished their money to be allocated to I can state categorically they were not. Given the hundreds and thousands of small unspecified donations that come into the IRC during a major international disaster contacting individual donors would simply not be possible. The IRC has not done so during such appeals and any implication that they have is false.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">It is also important to restate what I said about the General domestic fund, to which IRC allocates all unspecified donations. I stated in a previous submission to PAC that “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The balance was...put into the General domestic account where it can be used for a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">variety of purposes</b> including administration and general overheads</i>”. It is clear from this statement I did not claim that the money is solely used for ‘administration and general overheads’.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"> </i>The important point is that the money is used solely for domestic purposes when in fact such monies were intended by donors for overseas appeals.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">In relation to the specific figures I provided PAC outlining monies allocated to the General domestic fund and raised during the Haiti appeal I stand over these figures. The information on which the figures are based was provided to me while I was employed by the Irish Red Cross by two members of the senior management team at the time. I will not name them in this correspondence but am prepared to do so along with their positions if specifically requested by the PAC. I will also share such information with any independent investigation should one be established.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">In their attempts to reject my assertions IRC in fact prove my point that the General Fund is a domestic only fund where overseas appeal money should never be allocated as once done it never gets spent on overseas activities. The list of activities provided by IRC outlining which activities the General fund is spent on prove my point exactly that the fund is “a domestic account used for a variety of expenditures including administration and overheads”. Most of the activities listed such as youth programming, community services etc are provided by volunteers free of charge and as such related costs are in fact primarily administration, overheads and salaries. It is also very important to point out that the annual fee paid to the International Committee of the International Red Cross (ICRC) is paid from the Government’s grant in aid and the contribution to the IFRC is an annual administrative membership fee that goes to an administrative IFRC account. It is misleading by IRC to give the impression that this therefore proves the General Fund is somehow used for international activities when it is not. At no stage during my employment with IRC did the Society allocate any money from the General Fund to international activities. No General Funds monies are spent on overseas staff or programs or activities and they never have been. And therein lies the problem because overseas monies have been allocated in their millions to the General Fund. No amount of denials by IRC changes the fact that millions of Euros of publicly donated money for overseas disaster appeals was NEVER sent overseas. This is a practice that has gone on for twenty years. I look forward to the independent investigation verifying this.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">In relation to the issue of a legacy donation in 2010 I recommended an investigation to determine the veracity of the donation. No allegation was made by me so therefore IRC’s rejection of my ‘allegation’ is totally unnecessary. A call for a matter to be examined is not an allegation so to say it is “untrue” as IRC does is meaningless. It would, however, be important to determine how this legacy was spent. During my time as a senior manager all legacies were spent covering domestic expenses and activities unless the donor specifically restricted the donation. No ‘unrestricted’ legacy received during Oct 2005-Nov 2010 was ever used on overseas programming as the IRC would not permit such money to be spent on its overseas activities. I sincerely doubt that those families who made such legacies to the IRC were ever made aware of this.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">In relation to IRC properties I do not intend to re-iterate the extensive correspondence submitted to PAC to date except to say that I stand everything previously stated. The facts on the undisclosed IRC property portfolio over an extensive period of time in breach of accounting practice speak for themselves as do the auditor’s notes in the IRC accounts which couldn’t be any clearer. It is also important to note that the first time a list of IRC properties was ever made known to board members was when the list was submitted to the PAC on 2<sup>nd</sup> February 2012 following a request from PAC members. IRC has been under pressure to address the property issue since 1992. Without concerted pressure in recent years from former staff and former board members as well as the media and politicians including members of PAC and the exposure of numerous scandals within the Society it’s questionable whether the matter would ever have been addressed satisfactorily.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">The IRC letter makes a remarkable statement regarding various drafts and texts of the new IRC Constitution, a statement which clearly proves the undemocratic nature of the organisation and the presumption of power, unilateral decision making and control that exists amongst those at the top of the Society.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">In previous correspondence to the PAC I outlined the reasons why the supposed 3 year mandatory break (after six years on the board) was not in fact 100% mandatory because the IRC Constitution only made it mandatory if another person went forward for the position. If no-one else went forward then the incumbent could serve for a third three year term and so on indefinitely so long as no-one else went forward. The Constitution with this clause in it was approved and endorsed by the IRC Central Council on 28<sup>th</sup> May 2011<a style="mso-footnote-id:ftn1" href="file:///C:\Users\noeldp\Documents\NoelPersonal\31stMarch2012.doc#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character:footnote"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-IE;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>. No other individual, group or committee within the IRC has the authority to amend or reword the constitution once approved other than another vote of the Central Council. However, the IRC letter of 14<sup>th</sup> March 2012 clearly admits that the wording of the constitution as approved by the Central Council on 28<sup>th</sup> May 2011 was changed in August 2011. The IRC letter states “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">the clause to which he (Noel Wardick) refers was in an earlier draft and was removed in August last year (2011)”. </i></b>Under IRC laws and regulations and under the legislation that underpin them there is no authority to alter the wording of the approved constitution other than by a vote of the Central Council. No Central Council meeting took place in August 2011 and therefore no vote took place by the Central Council to remove such a clause. No such vote took place at the December 2011 Central Council meeting. Therefore whoever claims to have altered the wording of the constitution in the absence of a vote by Central Council clearly acted <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">ultra vires </i>and as such this means the removal of the clause was null and void. Therefore statements issued by IRC during the PAC hearing of 19<sup>th</sup> January 2012 in response to a question asked by Deputy Eoghan Murphy, Fine Gael, WERE false and inaccurate.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">On 10<sup>th</sup> March 2012 the Central Council of the IRC convened. Once again a reworded constitutional text was presented to members whereby the three year mandatory break was amended for the second time. The revised wording removed the possibility of avoiding the three year break if no-one else presented for the post. As a result a member of the Executive Committee is compelled to step down after serving two 3 year terms regardless of whether someone else is nominated for the post or not. The Central Council voted to accept the revised wording. As such the revised wording came into force for the FIRST time on 10<sup>th</sup> March 2012. It did not come into force in August 2011 as the authority to make the amendment simply did not exist. </p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">The fact that the IRC letter of 14<sup>th</sup> March confirms certain individuals believe they have powers to unilaterally alter the constitution of the Society in the absence of Central Council approval is cause for deep and fundamental concern.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">The amendment to the constitution which now compels members of the Executive Committee to step down after 6 years with no wriggle room to remain on is a welcome development and is a direct result of lobbying and pressure by a number of individuals. What remains seriously flawed in the new constitution is the absence of any acknowledgement of accumulated service to date or retrospection. As such long serving board members can continue to serve for another six years. In one case, the national vice chairman, this would bring his service to 27 years on the board, making a mockery of all claims to good governance.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">The IRC letter also attempts to mistakenly imply that the Society, under the Acting Chairmanship of the Treasurer, Mr. Ted Noonan, willingly, readily and enthusiastically decided to instigate an independent investigation into the Tipperary Tsunami bank account in the last quarter of 2010. The reality is the IRC had covered up the matter since the account was first discovered in March/April 2008 but because of sustained and severely critical media and political pressure including an RTE Prime Time investigation in August 2010 the IRC’s inaction and refusal to investigate became utterly untenable. Under ferocious pressure they caved in and announced in September 2010 that an independent investigation was to commence. The IRC, in its letter of 14<sup>th</sup> March 2012, uses this to present Mr. Noonan in a favourable light. What the letter neglects to explain is that Mr. Noonan was the Treasurer of the Society at the time (as well as temporary Acting Chair) and from the time of his appointment as Treasurer in June 2009 until fifteen months later he never once sought to examine or have the undeclared Tipperary tsunami account (or the 48 other undeclared accounts) investigated. </p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">Despite ‘announcing’ an independent investigation in September 2010 four weeks later the IRC cancelled the investigation in favour of a highly compromised internal review. Having announced an independent investigation as Acting Chairman and informed all IRC Central Council members, Executive Committee members, Working Group members, Area Secretaries, Branch Secretaries, Regional Directors, Area Directors and all staff in a written memo as well as the national media there is no evidence that Mr. Noonan opposed or sought to prevent the complete reversal of this decision four weeks later.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">In Mr. Noonan’s memo of 3<sup>rd</sup> September 2010 announcing the independent investigation he also stated the following:</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">To have the communities we seek to serve question our integrity and motives is an insult to everyone in the Irish Red Cross who have given so much of themselves to help others</i>”</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">The above by Mr. Noonan as Acting Chairperson of the IRC is a shocking and revealing insight into the culture and mentality of those who lead the Society. For the IRC to be challenged, questioned or criticised was to them utterly unacceptable, unfathomable and intolerable. Mr. Noonan’s words sent a chilling message to all within the Society....do not question us. Mr. Noonan remains IRC Treasurer to this day.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">In the IRC letter of 14<sup>th</sup> March the Society attempts to discredit my account of what happened regarding the Tipperary bank account but they do so in a manner unbecoming of a Red Cross national society. They cannot provide a single fact that actually proves my account inaccurate but instead they use pejorative and negative language in a ‘standard operating procedure’ widely used by lawyers when trying to damage truth telling witnesses. </p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">In my letter of 25<sup>th</sup> February 2012 to PAC I noted the following regarding an email I sent in 2008 that clearly disproves evidence given by the IRC at the 19<sup>th</sup> January PAC hearing:</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">It is important to note that the email referred to above has been reviewed by the Irish Red Cross Chairman, David O’ Callaghan and therefore he has been fully aware of it since soon after his appointment</i>”</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">In the IRC letter of 14<sup>th</sup> March the Society makes no reference to the above statement and by doing so it is reasonable to deduce that they do not contest it and thereby accept their account of events relating to the Tipperary account to be inaccurate. </p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">During the PAC hearing the IRC made false and damaging statements about the former Finance Consultant/Acting Head of Finance/Acting Secretary General concerning his role and actions around the Tipperary tsunami bank account. While the Society did not name the individual all those familiar with the IRC know the name of the individual they were referring to. It is critically important that the IRC issue a public apology to the individual concerned as they have wronged his name and character.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">The PAC has wisely discussed the necessity of requesting an independent investigation into the affairs of the Irish Red Cross. I stand over my assertions to-date and as stated many times I am prepared to appear on record before the PAC. I am also prepared to stand up in a court of law should that become necessary in the future. I will also cooperate fully with any independent investigation once established. </p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">For too long in Ireland those responsible for wrongdoing have not been held to account. The Irish Red Cross is no exception. A robust investigation with a wide remit led by a person of true independence has the potential to bear witness to the truth. I have no doubt the truth, once established and published, will vindicate those who have suffered at the hands of IRC for insisting on unconditional integrity, competence, good governance, honour and sound financial stewardship. </p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">I believe the request for a truly independent investigation will meet strong resistance as there are powerful, influential and well connected people and at least one government department that would much rather allow ‘sleeping dogs lie’. I can only hope the PAC is not dissuaded from its decisions.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">Yours sincerely,</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">Noel Wardick</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <div style="mso-element:footnote-list"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br /> <hr align="left" size="1" width="33%"> <!--[endif]--> <div style="mso-element:footnote" id="ftn1"> <p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a style="mso-footnote-id:ftn1" href="file:///C:\Users\noeldp\Documents\NoelPersonal\31stMarch2012.doc#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-IE; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span style="font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%">It is to be noted that the original text of the constitution to be put before the Central Council only contained a mandatory one year break but 12 days before the Central Council meeting of 28<sup>th</sup> May 2011 the Minister for Justice<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>& Defence wrote IRC a strongly worded letter outlining what he regarded as good governance and appropriate board tenures. This letter was not shared with Central Council members, in flagrant breach of good governance, but the draft text of the constitution was amended at the last minute to increase the one year mandatory break to a qualified three year mandatory break <o:p></o:p></span></p> </div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012489272112463047.post-30364099395806780232012-03-11T13:52:00.004-07:002012-03-12T11:43:31.443-07:00Parliamentary Committee to request an independent investigation into Irish Red Cross<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">The Irish Red Cross was once again high on the agenda of the national parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) meeting of 8<sup>th</sup> March 2012. </p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">Concerns around the reliability and veracity of Irish Red Cross evidence given before the PAC at a hearing on the 19<sup>th</sup> January 2012 have increased significantly since the Irish Red Cross was formally challenged by a number of people who subsequently wrote to the PAC. As a direct result the Irish Red Cross was forced to write to the PAC on 14<sup>th</sup> February 2012 and admit sections of their evidence were inaccurate and that on at least one substantive issue they were not prepared, were unfamiliar with the topic and were not in a position to give definitive evidence, this despite failing to make this known at the original hearing of 19<sup>th</sup> January. On the 8<sup>th</sup> March 2012 the PAC Chairman, Deputy John Mc Guinness, stated in no uncertain terms:</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">“<i>The Committee has received a considerable volume of correspondence on the Red Cross, particularly since our meeting of 19<sup>th</sup> January. We need to review this correspondence because, among other issues raised, the Committee may have been misled (by Irish Red Cross)”</i></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">The PAC Chairman then went on to raise the necessity of a third party intervention and an independent investigation into the Irish Red Cross</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">“<i>However our examination of the issue has thrown up more questions than answers and, rather than having another wave of correspondence on the various issues raised, it behoves the Department of Defence and Minister for Defence to arrange for a third party to review the evidence and establish definitively in respect of areas that are in dispute. Until we get independent assurances there is no way we will be able to sign off on the Red Cross examination</i>”</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">The PAC Chairman is to be commended for the above statement as well as his unwillingness to sign off on the Irish Red Cross issue until he is fully satisfied that the full truth and nothing but the truth has been told. It is also a serious rebuke to Donal Forde, Irish Red Cross Secretary General, who in his letter of apology to the PAC had questioned the point of an “ongoing exchange” on such matters.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">In addition to discussing the possibility of requesting an independent investigation the PAC is considering asking a number of people, such as Noel Wardick, former Head of International at the Society, to appear before it. This would give individuals such as Mr. Wardick the opportunity to explain in person what really happened at the Irish Red Cross and why much of the Irish Red Cross evidence on 19<sup>th</sup> January was inaccurate.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">The Chairman concluded the Irish Red Cross discussion with the following remarks:</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">“<i>To be clear on what we are proposing, we will ask the clerk to examine the correspondence to determine who might be invited before us. When that process is brought to a conclusion we will refer the hearings to the Accounting Officer with the suggestion that he have the matter independently investigated. Is that Agreed? Agreed.”</i></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><i> </i></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">This Blog has continually advocated for and put forward the view that an independent investigation into the Irish Red Cross is the only way the truth would out and the only way to ensure those responsible for wrongs are held to account. Time will tell if an independent investigation eventually takes place but the PAC hearing of the 8<sup>th</sup> March 2012 has brought us one step closer.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">The Public Accounts Committee also published on the Oireachtas website the detailed and comprehensive response written by Noel Wardick to the Irish Red Cross evidence given at the 19<sup>th</sup> January PAC hearing. It can be found at:</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><a href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/parliament/media/committees/pac/correspondence/2012-meeting310803/%5bPAC-R-327%5dCorrespondence-3.1.pdf">http://www.oireachtas.ie/parliament/media/committees/pac/correspondence/2012-meeting310803/[PAC-R-327]Correspondence-3.1.pdf</a></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">Noel Wardick’s response to Donal Forde’s apology letter to the PAC was also published by PAC and can be found at:</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><a href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/parliament/media/committees/pac/correspondence/2012-meeting310803/%5bPAC-R-345%5dCorrespondence-3.19.pdf">http://www.oireachtas.ie/parliament/media/committees/pac/correspondence/2012-meeting310803/[PAC-R-345]Correspondence-3.19.pdf</a></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">The full transcript of the 8<sup>th</sup> March 2012 PAC meeting as it relates to the Irish Red Cross is below:</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <table class="MsoNormalTable" border="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" style="width:100.0%;mso-cellspacing:1.5pt;background:white;mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;mso-padding-alt:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm"> <tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-irow:0;mso-yfti-firstrow:yes;mso-yfti-lastrow:yes"> <td valign="bottom" style="padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal;mso-outline-level:1;vertical-align:baseline"><b><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-fareast-language: EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:17.0pt;color:#509719;">Business of Committee<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal;mso-outline-level:2;vertical-align:baseline"><b><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:15.0pt;color:#8C741D;">Thursday, 8 March 2012<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> </td> <td width="280" valign="bottom" style="width:210.0pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm"> <p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="margin-bottom:10.7pt;text-align:right; line-height:normal;vertical-align:baseline"><span style=" font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:black;">Committee of Public Accounts Debate<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:right;line-height:normal"><span style=" font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:black;"><a href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/03/08" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration:none;text-underline:nonecolor:#663399;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600" spt="75" preferrelative="t" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" filled="f" stroked="f"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"> </v:formulas> <v:path extrusionok="f" gradientshapeok="t" connecttype="rect"> <o:lock ext="edit" aspectratio="t"> </v:shapetype><v:shape id="_x0000_i1025" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="First Page" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/03/08" target=""_blank"" style="'width:17.25pt;height:15.75pt'" button="t"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\noeldp\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.gif" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/template_files/arrowlstart.gif"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><span style="mso-ignore:vglayout"><img border="0" width="23" height="21" src="file:///C:/Users/noeldp/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.gif" alt="First Page" shapes="_x0000_i1025" /></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> <a href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/03/08/00002.asp" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration:none;text-underline:nonecolor:#663399;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_i1026" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="Previous Page" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/03/08/00002.asp" target=""_blank"" style="'width:17.25pt;height:15.75pt'" button="t"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\noeldp\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image002.gif" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/template_files/arrowl.gif"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><span style="mso-ignore:vglayout"><img border="0" width="23" height="21" src="file:///C:/Users/noeldp/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image002.gif" alt="Previous Page" shapes="_x0000_i1026" /></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Page <input type="text" name="txtPage1" value="3"> of 4 <a href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/03/08/00004.asp" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration:none;text-underline: nonecolor:#663399;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_i1027" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="Next Page" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/03/08/00004.asp" target=""_blank"" style="'width:17.25pt;height:15.75pt'" button="t"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\noeldp\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image003.gif" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/template_files/arrowr.gif"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><span style="mso-ignore:vglayout"><img border="0" width="23" height="21" src="file:///C:/Users/noeldp/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image003.gif" alt="Next Page" shapes="_x0000_i1027" /></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> <a href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/03/08/00004.asp" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration:none;text-underline:nonecolor:#663399;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_i1028" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="Last Page" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/03/08/00004.asp" target=""_blank"" style="'width:17.25pt;height:15.75pt'" button="t"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\noeldp\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image004.gif" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/template_files/arrowrstart.gif"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><span style="mso-ignore:vglayout"><img border="0" width="23" height="21" src="file:///C:/Users/noeldp/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image004.gif" alt="Last Page" shapes="_x0000_i1028" /></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <div class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-top:14.25pt;margin-right:0cm; margin-bottom:14.25pt;margin-left:0cm;text-align:center;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:8.5pt;mso-bidi-font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language: EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:11.0pt;color:#454545;"> <hr size="1" width="100%" noshade="" style="color:#CCCCCC" align="center"> </span></div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal;background:white;vertical-align:baseline"><b><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:11.0pt;color:#990000;">Chairman:</span></b><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#454545;"> <a href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=31&MemberID=741" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration:none;text-underline: nonecolor:#663399;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_i1030" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="Information on John McGuinness" href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=31&MemberID=741" target=""_blank"" style="'width:8.25pt;height:8.25pt'" button="t"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\noeldp\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image005.gif" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/info.gif"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><span style="mso-ignore:vglayout"><img border="0" width="11" height="11" src="file:///C:/Users/noeldp/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image005.gif" alt="Information on John McGuinness" shapes="_x0000_i1030" /></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> <a href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/03/08/member741.asp" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration:none;text-underline:nonecolor:#663399;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_i1031" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="Zoom on John McGuinness" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/03/08/member741.asp" target=""_blank"" style="'width:8.25pt;height:8.25pt'" button="t"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\noeldp\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image006.gif" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/zoom.gif"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><span style="mso-ignore:vglayout"><img border="0" width="11" height="11" src="file:///C:/Users/noeldp/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image006.gif" alt="Zoom on John McGuinness" shapes="_x0000_i1031" /></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> </span><a name="N2"><u><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language: EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#234786;">The first item is the minutes of the meeting of 23 February 2012. Are the minutes agreed? Agreed. Most matters arising from the minutes will be dealt with during the course of our agenda.</span></u></a><span style="mso-bookmark: N2"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <span style="mso-bookmark:N2"></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal;background:white;vertical-align:baseline"><a name="N3"><u><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#234786;">The next item on the agenda is correspondence received since our last meeting. No. 3.1 is correspondence dated 22 and 25 February 2012 from Mr. Noel Wardick, former head of the international department of the Irish Red Cross. Some members will be interested in this matter. The committee has received a considerable volume of correspondence on the Red Cross, particularly since our meeting of 19 January. We need to review this correspondence because, among other issues raised, the committee may have been misled. We are in a difficult position in that the Red Cross is not accountable to this committee. However, our examination of the issue has thrown up more questions than answers and, rather than having another wave of correspondence on the various issues raised, it behoves the Department of Defence and the Minister for Defence to arrange for a third party to review the evidence and establish definitively the position in respect of areas that are in dispute. Until we get independent assurances there is no way we will be able to sign off on the Red Cross examination.</span></u></a><span style="mso-bookmark:N3"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language: EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#454545;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal;background:white;vertical-align:baseline"><span style="mso-bookmark: N3"><b><u><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:11.0pt;color:#990000;">Deputy Eoghan Murphy:</span></u></b></span><span style="mso-bookmark:N3"><u><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language: EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#234786;"> </span></u></span><span style="mso-bookmark:N3"></span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#454545;"><a href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=31&MemberID=2288" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration:none;text-underline: nonecolor:#663399;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_i1032" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="Information on Eoghan Murphy" href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=31&MemberID=2288" target=""_blank"" style="'width:8.25pt;height:8.25pt'" button="t"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\noeldp\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image005.gif" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/info.gif"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><span style="mso-ignore:vglayout"><img border="0" width="11" height="11" src="file:///C:/Users/noeldp/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image005.gif" alt="Information on Eoghan Murphy" shapes="_x0000_i1032" /></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> <a href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/03/08/member2288.asp" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration:none;text-underline: nonecolor:#663399;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_i1033" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="Zoom on Eoghan Murphy" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/03/08/member2288.asp" target=""_blank"" style="'width:8.25pt;height:8.25pt'" button="t"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\noeldp\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image006.gif" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/zoom.gif"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><span style="mso-ignore:vglayout"><img border="0" width="11" height="11" src="file:///C:/Users/noeldp/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image006.gif" alt="Zoom on Eoghan Murphy" shapes="_x0000_i1033" /></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> </span><a name="N4"><u><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language: EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#234786;">We have several items of correspondence that contradicted the evidence presented to us. As the Chairman noted, the Red Cross is not directly accountable to the committee. Is he proposing that we conduct an investigation into the evidence we were given?</span></u></a><span style="mso-bookmark:N4"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#454545;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal;background:white;vertical-align:baseline"><span style="mso-bookmark: N4"><b><u><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:11.0pt;color:#990000;">Chairman:</span></u></b></span><span style="mso-bookmark:N4"><u><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language: EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#234786;"> </span></u></span><span style="mso-bookmark:N4"></span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#454545;"><a href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=31&MemberID=741" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration:none;text-underline: nonecolor:#663399;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_i1034" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="Information on John McGuinness" href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=31&MemberID=741" target=""_blank"" style="'width:8.25pt;height:8.25pt'" button="t"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\noeldp\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image005.gif" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/info.gif"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><span style="mso-ignore:vglayout"><img border="0" width="11" height="11" src="file:///C:/Users/noeldp/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image005.gif" alt="Information on John McGuinness" shapes="_x0000_i1034" /></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> <a href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/03/08/member741.asp" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration:none;text-underline:nonecolor:#663399;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_i1035" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="Zoom on John McGuinness" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/03/08/member741.asp" target=""_blank"" style="'width:8.25pt;height:8.25pt'" button="t"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\noeldp\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image006.gif" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/zoom.gif"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><span style="mso-ignore:vglayout"><img border="0" width="11" height="11" src="file:///C:/Users/noeldp/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image006.gif" alt="Zoom on John McGuinness" shapes="_x0000_i1035" /></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> </span><a name="N5"><u><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language: EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#234786;">We have a number of options. We can conduct an investigation and ask the Department to examine the Red Cross. The other option is to give Mr. Wardick and others the opportunity to appear before the committee.</span></u></a><span style="mso-bookmark:N5"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language: EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#454545;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal;background:white;vertical-align:baseline"><span style="mso-bookmark: N5"><b><u><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:11.0pt;color:#990000;">Deputy Eoghan Murphy:</span></u></b></span><span style="mso-bookmark:N5"><u><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language: EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#234786;"> </span></u></span><span style="mso-bookmark:N5"></span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#454545;"><a href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=31&MemberID=2288" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration:none;text-underline: nonecolor:#663399;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_i1036" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="Information on Eoghan Murphy" href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=31&MemberID=2288" target=""_blank"" style="'width:8.25pt;height:8.25pt'" button="t"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\noeldp\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image005.gif" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/info.gif"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><span style="mso-ignore:vglayout"><img border="0" width="11" height="11" src="file:///C:/Users/noeldp/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image005.gif" alt="Information on Eoghan Murphy" shapes="_x0000_i1036" /></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> <a href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/03/08/member2288.asp" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration:none;text-underline: nonecolor:#663399;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_i1037" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="Zoom on Eoghan Murphy" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/03/08/member2288.asp" target=""_blank"" style="'width:8.25pt;height:8.25pt'" button="t"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\noeldp\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image006.gif" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/zoom.gif"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><span style="mso-ignore:vglayout"><img border="0" width="11" height="11" src="file:///C:/Users/noeldp/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image006.gif" alt="Zoom on Eoghan Murphy" shapes="_x0000_i1037" /></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> </span><a name="N6"><u><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language: EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#234786;">We have received correspondence relating to the Charities Act 2009. When witnesses from the Department appeared before us previously to discuss the Red Cross, they indicated that the Act would solve many of the problems arising in the charity sector. However, the aforementioned correspondence indicates that the implementation of the Act will not be proceeding in the near future. I do not know how it will benefit us to bring the Red Cross before us again, unless it is just to give its representatives an opportunity to tell the same story. Would it be preferable to ask the Department to investigate the issue properly? I am concerned, however, that it may take the same hands-off approach it followed previously.</span></u></a><span style="mso-bookmark:N6"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#454545;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal;background:white;vertical-align:baseline"><span style="mso-bookmark: N6"><b><u><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:11.0pt;color:#990000;">Chairman:</span></u></b></span><span style="mso-bookmark:N6"><u><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language: EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#234786;"> </span></u></span><span style="mso-bookmark:N6"></span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#454545;"><a href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=31&MemberID=741" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration:none;text-underline: nonecolor:#663399;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_i1038" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="Information on John McGuinness" href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=31&MemberID=741" target=""_blank"" style="'width:8.25pt;height:8.25pt'" button="t"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\noeldp\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image005.gif" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/info.gif"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><span style="mso-ignore:vglayout"><img border="0" width="11" height="11" src="file:///C:/Users/noeldp/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image005.gif" alt="Information on John McGuinness" shapes="_x0000_i1038" /></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> <a href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/03/08/member741.asp" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration:none;text-underline:nonecolor:#663399;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_i1039" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="Zoom on John McGuinness" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/03/08/member741.asp" target=""_blank"" style="'width:8.25pt;height:8.25pt'" button="t"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\noeldp\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image006.gif" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/zoom.gif"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><span style="mso-ignore:vglayout"><img border="0" width="11" height="11" src="file:///C:/Users/noeldp/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image006.gif" alt="Zoom on John McGuinness" shapes="_x0000_i1039" /></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> </span><a name="N7"><u><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language: EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#234786;">We continue to receive a volume of correspondence which gives rise to further questions. We need to bring the matter to a conclusion. We can do so either by asking the Accounting Officer to conclude matters by way of an independent investigation or we can hear evidence from Mr. Wardick and others before reaching our own conclusions. I do not know if the Comptroller and Auditor General can play a role in assisting our efforts to bring the matter to a conclusion but we have to make a decision because otherwise the correspondence will continue to arrive, the accusations will continue to be made and we will not have concluded our work.</span></u></a><span style="mso-bookmark:N7"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language: EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#454545;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal;background:white;vertical-align:baseline"><span style="mso-bookmark: N7"><b><u><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:11.0pt;color:#990000;">Deputy Eoghan Murphy:</span></u></b></span><span style="mso-bookmark:N7"><u><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language: EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#234786;"> </span></u></span><span style="mso-bookmark:N7"></span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#454545;"><a href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=31&MemberID=2288" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration:none;text-underline: nonecolor:#663399;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_i1040" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="Information on Eoghan Murphy" href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=31&MemberID=2288" target=""_blank"" style="'width:8.25pt;height:8.25pt'" button="t"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\noeldp\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image005.gif" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/info.gif"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><span style="mso-ignore:vglayout"><img border="0" width="11" height="11" src="file:///C:/Users/noeldp/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image005.gif" alt="Information on Eoghan Murphy" shapes="_x0000_i1040" /></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> <a href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/03/08/member2288.asp" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration:none;text-underline: nonecolor:#663399;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_i1041" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="Zoom on Eoghan Murphy" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/03/08/member2288.asp" target=""_blank"" style="'width:8.25pt;height:8.25pt'" button="t"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\noeldp\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image006.gif" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/zoom.gif"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><span style="mso-ignore:vglayout"><img border="0" width="11" height="11" src="file:///C:/Users/noeldp/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image006.gif" alt="Zoom on Eoghan Murphy" shapes="_x0000_i1041" /></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> </span><a name="N8"><u><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language: EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#234786;">I suspect the Department will continue to take a hands-off approach in terms of investigations. I got the impression that if Ireland tried to set a precedent it would have a negative effect in terms of other countries attempting to interfere with their own Red Cross societies. If the committee proposes to invite the Red Cross to appear again I would support the proposal.</span></u></a><span style="mso-bookmark:N8"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language: EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#454545;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal;background:white;vertical-align:baseline"><span style="mso-bookmark: N8"><b><u><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:11.0pt;color:#990000;">Chairman:</span></u></b></span><span style="mso-bookmark:N8"><u><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language: EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#234786;"> </span></u></span><span style="mso-bookmark:N8"></span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#454545;"><a href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=31&MemberID=741" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration:none;text-underline: nonecolor:#663399;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_i1042" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="Information on John McGuinness" href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=31&MemberID=741" target=""_blank"" style="'width:8.25pt;height:8.25pt'" button="t"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\noeldp\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image005.gif" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/info.gif"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><span style="mso-ignore:vglayout"><img border="0" width="11" height="11" src="file:///C:/Users/noeldp/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image005.gif" alt="Information on John McGuinness" shapes="_x0000_i1042" /></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> <a href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/03/08/member741.asp" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration:none;text-underline:nonecolor:#663399;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_i1043" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="Zoom on John McGuinness" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/03/08/member741.asp" target=""_blank"" style="'width:8.25pt;height:8.25pt'" button="t"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\noeldp\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image006.gif" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/zoom.gif"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><span style="mso-ignore:vglayout"><img border="0" width="11" height="11" src="file:///C:/Users/noeldp/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image006.gif" alt="Zoom on John McGuinness" shapes="_x0000_i1043" /></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> </span><a name="N9"><u><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language: EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#234786;">What does Deputy Eoghan Murphy suggest in regard to Mr. Wardick and others?</span></u></a><span style="mso-bookmark:N9"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#454545;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal;background:white;vertical-align:baseline"><span style="mso-bookmark: N9"><b><u><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:11.0pt;color:#990000;">Deputy Eoghan Murphy:</span></u></b></span><span style="mso-bookmark:N9"><u><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language: EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#234786;"> </span></u></span><span style="mso-bookmark:N9"></span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#454545;"><a href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=31&MemberID=2288" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration:none;text-underline: nonecolor:#663399;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_i1044" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="Information on Eoghan Murphy" href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=31&MemberID=2288" target=""_blank"" style="'width:8.25pt;height:8.25pt'" button="t"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\noeldp\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image005.gif" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/info.gif"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><span style="mso-ignore:vglayout"><img border="0" width="11" height="11" src="file:///C:/Users/noeldp/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image005.gif" alt="Information on Eoghan Murphy" shapes="_x0000_i1044" /></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> <a href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/03/08/member2288.asp" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration:none;text-underline: nonecolor:#663399;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_i1045" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="Zoom on Eoghan Murphy" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/03/08/member2288.asp" target=""_blank"" style="'width:8.25pt;height:8.25pt'" button="t"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\noeldp\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image006.gif" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/zoom.gif"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><span style="mso-ignore:vglayout"><img border="0" width="11" height="11" src="file:///C:/Users/noeldp/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image006.gif" alt="Zoom on Eoghan Murphy" shapes="_x0000_i1045" /></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> </span><a name="N10"><u><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language: EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#234786;">Would we give them an opportunity to state their case?</span></u></a><span style="mso-bookmark:N10"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language: EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#454545;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal;background:white;vertical-align:baseline"><span style="mso-bookmark: N10"><b><u><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:11.0pt;color:#990000;">Chairman:</span></u></b></span><span style="mso-bookmark:N10"><u><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language: EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#234786;"> </span></u></span><span style="mso-bookmark:N10"></span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#454545;"><a href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=31&MemberID=741" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration:none;text-underline: nonecolor:#663399;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_i1046" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="Information on John McGuinness" href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=31&MemberID=741" target=""_blank"" style="'width:8.25pt;height:8.25pt'" button="t"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\noeldp\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image005.gif" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/info.gif"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><span style="mso-ignore:vglayout"><img border="0" width="11" height="11" src="file:///C:/Users/noeldp/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image005.gif" alt="Information on John McGuinness" shapes="_x0000_i1046" /></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> <a href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/03/08/member741.asp" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration:none;text-underline:nonecolor:#663399;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_i1047" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="Zoom on John McGuinness" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/03/08/member741.asp" target=""_blank"" style="'width:8.25pt;height:8.25pt'" button="t"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\noeldp\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image006.gif" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/zoom.gif"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><span style="mso-ignore:vglayout"><img border="0" width="11" height="11" src="file:///C:/Users/noeldp/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image006.gif" alt="Zoom on John McGuinness" shapes="_x0000_i1047" /></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> </span><a name="N11"><u><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language: EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#234786;">We could say that we are finalising matters by allowing them to state their case.</span></u></a><span style="mso-bookmark:N11"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#454545;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal;background:white;vertical-align:baseline"><span style="mso-bookmark: N11"><b><u><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:11.0pt;color:#990000;">Deputy Eoghan Murphy:</span></u></b></span><span style="mso-bookmark:N11"><u><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language: EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#234786;"> </span></u></span><span style="mso-bookmark:N11"></span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#454545;"><a href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=31&MemberID=2288" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration:none;text-underline: nonecolor:#663399;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_i1048" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="Information on Eoghan Murphy" href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=31&MemberID=2288" target=""_blank"" style="'width:8.25pt;height:8.25pt'" button="t"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\noeldp\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image005.gif" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/info.gif"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><span style="mso-ignore:vglayout"><img border="0" width="11" height="11" src="file:///C:/Users/noeldp/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image005.gif" alt="Information on Eoghan Murphy" shapes="_x0000_i1048" /></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> <a href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/03/08/member2288.asp" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration:none;text-underline: nonecolor:#663399;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_i1049" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="Zoom on Eoghan Murphy" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/03/08/member2288.asp" target=""_blank"" style="'width:8.25pt;height:8.25pt'" button="t"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\noeldp\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image006.gif" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/zoom.gif"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><span style="mso-ignore:vglayout"><img border="0" width="11" height="11" src="file:///C:/Users/noeldp/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image006.gif" alt="Zoom on Eoghan Murphy" shapes="_x0000_i1049" /></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> </span><a name="N12"><u><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language: EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#234786;">I imagine others besides Mr. Wardick who have written to the committee and its members would also like to meet us. I do not know if the committee has previously facilitated such meetings.</span></u></a><span style="mso-bookmark: N12"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#454545;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal;background:white;vertical-align:baseline"><span style="mso-bookmark: N12"><b><u><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:11.0pt;color:#990000;">Chairman:</span></u></b></span><span style="mso-bookmark:N12"><u><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language: EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#234786;"> </span></u></span><span style="mso-bookmark:N12"></span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#454545;"><a href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=31&MemberID=741" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration:none;text-underline: nonecolor:#663399;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_i1050" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="Information on John McGuinness" href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=31&MemberID=741" target=""_blank"" style="'width:8.25pt;height:8.25pt'" button="t"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\noeldp\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image005.gif" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/info.gif"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><span style="mso-ignore:vglayout"><img border="0" width="11" height="11" src="file:///C:/Users/noeldp/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image005.gif" alt="Information on John McGuinness" shapes="_x0000_i1050" /></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> <a href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/03/08/member741.asp" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration:none;text-underline:nonecolor:#663399;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_i1051" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="Zoom on John McGuinness" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/03/08/member741.asp" target=""_blank"" style="'width:8.25pt;height:8.25pt'" button="t"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\noeldp\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image006.gif" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/zoom.gif"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><span style="mso-ignore:vglayout"><img border="0" width="11" height="11" src="file:///C:/Users/noeldp/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image006.gif" alt="Zoom on John McGuinness" shapes="_x0000_i1051" /></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> </span><a name="N13"><u><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language: EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#3A65BB;">I will ask the clerk to examine the correspondence to determine whether it is worthwhile to invite them before us to examine the issues they have raised before referring the hearings to the Accounting Officer as part of a request that the matter be formally investigated by an independent figure. We could possibly bring the matter to a conclusion by these means.</span></u></a><span style="mso-bookmark:N13"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language: EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#454545;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal;background:white;vertical-align:baseline"><span style="mso-bookmark: N13"><b><u><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:11.0pt;color:#990000;">Deputy Eoghan Murphy:</span></u></b></span><span style="mso-bookmark:N13"><u><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language: EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#234786;"> </span></u></span><span style="mso-bookmark:N13"></span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#454545;"><a href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=31&MemberID=2288" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration:none;text-underline: nonecolor:#663399;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_i1052" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="Information on Eoghan Murphy" href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=31&MemberID=2288" target=""_blank"" style="'width:8.25pt;height:8.25pt'" button="t"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\noeldp\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image005.gif" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/info.gif"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><span style="mso-ignore:vglayout"><img border="0" width="11" height="11" src="file:///C:/Users/noeldp/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image005.gif" alt="Information on Eoghan Murphy" shapes="_x0000_i1052" /></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> <a href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/03/08/member2288.asp" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration:none;text-underline: nonecolor:#663399;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_i1053" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="Zoom on Eoghan Murphy" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/03/08/member2288.asp" target=""_blank"" style="'width:8.25pt;height:8.25pt'" button="t"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\noeldp\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image006.gif" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/zoom.gif"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><span style="mso-ignore:vglayout"><img border="0" width="11" height="11" src="file:///C:/Users/noeldp/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image006.gif" alt="Zoom on Eoghan Murphy" shapes="_x0000_i1053" /></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> </span><a name="N14"><u><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language: EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#234786;">Yes.</span></u></a><span style="mso-bookmark:N14"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#454545;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal;background:white;vertical-align:baseline"><span style="mso-bookmark: N14"><b><u><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:11.0pt;color:#990000;">Chairman:</span></u></b></span><span style="mso-bookmark:N14"><u><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language: EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#234786;"> </span></u></span><span style="mso-bookmark:N14"></span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#454545;"><a href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=31&MemberID=741" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration:none;text-underline: nonecolor:#663399;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_i1054" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="Information on John McGuinness" href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=31&MemberID=741" target=""_blank"" style="'width:8.25pt;height:8.25pt'" button="t"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\noeldp\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image005.gif" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/info.gif"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><span style="mso-ignore:vglayout"><img border="0" width="11" height="11" src="file:///C:/Users/noeldp/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image005.gif" alt="Information on John McGuinness" shapes="_x0000_i1054" /></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> <a href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/03/08/member741.asp" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration:none;text-underline:nonecolor:#663399;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_i1055" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="Zoom on John McGuinness" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/03/08/member741.asp" target=""_blank"" style="'width:8.25pt;height:8.25pt'" button="t"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\noeldp\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image006.gif" href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/zoom.gif"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><span style="mso-ignore:vglayout"><img border="0" width="11" height="11" src="file:///C:/Users/noeldp/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image006.gif" alt="Zoom on John McGuinness" shapes="_x0000_i1055" /></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> </span><a name="N15"><u><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language: EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#234786;">To be clear on what we are proposing, we will ask the clerk to examine the correspondence to determine who might be invited before us. When that process is brought to a conclusion we will refer the hearings to the Accounting Officer with the suggestion that he have the matter independently investigated. Is that agreed? Agreed.</span></u></a><span style="mso-bookmark:N15"></span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#454545;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i>Justice consists not in being neutral between right and wrong, but in finding out the right and upholding it, wherever found, against the wrong</i>-Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919)</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012489272112463047.post-83605390218678288172012-02-29T09:37:00.003-08:002012-03-01T01:23:36.743-08:00Irish Red Cross forced to apologise over inaccurate evidence to Parliamentary Committee<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">The Secretary General of the Irish Red Cross, Mr. Donal Forde, has been forced to issue an apology for giving inaccurate evidence to a recent parliamentary Public Accounts Committee hearing (19<sup>th</sup> January 2012). The hearing was held to investigate financial irregularities, misgovernance and misuse of donor money at the Irish Red Cross.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">Following the 19<sup>th</sup> January hearing the evidence given by Mr. Forde and his two colleagues, Mr. David O’ Callaghan-Chairman and Mr. Ronan Ryan-Fundraising Manager, was challenged in separate written correspondence from the former and highly respected Irish Red Cross Board member, Jennifer Bulbulia and the former Irish Red Cross Head of International Department Noel Wardick.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">The Dail (Irish parliament) Public Accounts Committee then forwarded the letters to the Irish Red Cross and requested a formal response to their contents. Faced with this situation and the information contained in the letters Mr. Forde was left with little or no option but to admit the Irish Red Cross had presented inaccurate evidence. </p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">The question remains, however, had Mr. Forde not been challenged by Mr. Wardick and Ms. Bulbulia would he or Mr. O’ Callaghan or Mr. Ryan ever have admitted on record that a significant aspect of the original IRC evidence was inaccurate? Or would their inaccurate evidence have remained as the official response on public record? We will never know of course but readers can come to their own conclusions.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">In addition to apologising for serious inaccuracies Mr. Forde was also forced to back track concerning the quality and reliability of his original evidence regarding the undisclosed Tipperary Tsunami Bank account, on which the national Vice Chairman, Anthony (Tony) Lawlor, was a signatory.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">At the 19<sup>th</sup> January hearing Mr. Forde was very definitive in his answers about what happened, who knew what happened, who didn’t know what happened and when people knew what happened. Much of Mr. Forde’s evidence in this regard was factually wrong, inaccurate and incorrect. When subsequently challenged Mr. Forde, on behalf of the Irish Red Cross, has had to row back substantially on his evidence. In his response to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in his letter of 14<sup>th</sup> February 2012 Mr. Forde was forced to admit:</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">“However I have to say that I, or my colleagues, were not prepared for some of the very forensic questioning relating to the precise detail of events surrounding the Tipperary Bank account incident through the period from 2005 to 2009”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">It is highly unfortunate that during the actual hearing on the 19<sup>th</sup> January that Mr. Forde nor his two colleagues made such an admission but rather presented information as fact and accurate. They clearly led the Committee members to believe they were speaking with authority on matters that it has now transpired they were not prepared for nor were they knowledgeable about.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">Mr. Forde goes on to admit in his letter to PAC:</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">I am not in a position to offer a definitive account of those events, nor indeed were any my colleagues on the day</i>”</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">The question must now be asked why Mr. Forde, despite his admission that he and his colleagues could not provide a definitive account of the situation, did exactly that during the hearing. They presented information as fact and at no stage informed the PAC hearing that they were not in a position to answer questions. Instead they gave inaccurate and incorrect information to an Oireachtas Committee investigating the organisation they represented and presented such information as accurate and correct. Clearly therefore the Dail Public Accounts Committee was misled. Whether the PAC was intentionally misled or not only the Irish Red Cross officials will ever know. Mr. Forde does say in his letter that he did not intentionally mislead the Committee members.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">In his letter Mr. Forde further states:</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">If I have offered any evidence that is inconsistent with these, I apologise for this but have done so only out of unfamiliarity and not with any intention to mislead”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">Mr. Forde has admitted to the PAC that he and his colleagues, in relation to key aspects of the Committee’s questions, were “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">not prepared</i>”, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">not in a position to offer a definitive account</i>” and “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">uncomfortable</i>” and “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">unfamiliar</i>”. Mr. Forde has only admitted this after his evidence given on the 19<sup>th</sup> January was robustly and credibly challenged. At no stage did he make such admissions during the hearing and instead presented serious inaccuracies as fact. He did this despite knowing he was not prepared, was not familiar, was not in a position to offer a definitive account and was uncomfortable in providing answers. This the Irish Red Cross did knowingly before publicly elected representatives of a national parliamentary committee. The fact that they were prepared to do so sums up the culture of the organisation.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">In relation to Ms. Bulbulia’s letter (the link to the full letter is below) Mr. Forde says:</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Ms. Bulbulia’s account may well be accurate as it relates to the Tipperary bank account, but I have no basis on which to make judgement”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">Ms. Bulbulia’s letter completely contradicts Mr. Forde’s own evidence. Ms. Bulbulia, a board member at the time of the Tipperary bank account’s discovery, has clearly stated on record that she, other board members and the Secretary General were immediately informed in March/April 2008 about the account’s discovery. </p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">Mr. Forde stated to the PAC hearing that no board member knew, that the Secretary General didn’t know and only the Consultant/Head of Finance knew and that he told none of his superiors. Now that Mr. Fore accepts that Ms. Bulbulia’s account may be accurate he must therefore accept that his own statements may be inaccurate. He must also accept that his attempt to scapegoat the former Consultant/Head of Finance by stating at the PAC hearing that he did not inform board members or the Secretary General about the account after he discovered it is grossly wrong and a serious injustice to the individual concerned. Mr. Forde should immediately issue a retraction of his statements in this regard and extend a public apology.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">Mr. Forde also states in relation to Ms. Bulbulia’s letter</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Ms. Bulbulia is correct in pointing to two inaccuracies in my evidence and I apologise for these. As I have earlier explained they are attributable to my unfamiliarity with these events and I did not intend to mislead the Committee”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">The above is the second time in his letter to PAC of the 14<sup>th</sup> February that Mr. Forde is forced to apologise and claim he did not intend to mislead the Committee members. Mr. Forde admits that his evidence that the bank account was discovered in August 2008 is inaccurate and that Ms. Bulbulia’s assertion that it was discovered in March/April 2008 is correct. In his evidence to PAC Mr. Forde also stated that when the bank account was discovered in ‘August 2008’ it was immediately transferred to IRC head office in September 2008. Now that Mr. Forde has admitted he was incorrect to say the account was discovered in August 2008 it therefore follows his evidence that the money was ‘immediately’ transferred to IRC head office is also inaccurate. Clearly if the account was discovered in March/April 2008 and only transferred to IRC head office in September 2008 it took a full six months to do so. By providing the wrong information to PAC (unintentionally according to Mr. Forde) Mr. Forde avoided any questions from PAC as to why an undisclosed account, when discovered, would take a further six months to transfer the proceeds (€162,000) to its proper place in IRC head office. Mr. Forde is now surely obliged to answer the questions he avoided by giving inaccurate information.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">The link to Ms. Bulbulia’s letter to PAC rejecting Mr. Forde’s evidence is:</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><a href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/parliament/media/committees/pac/correspondence/2012-meeting292302/%5bPAC-315%5dCorrespondence3.2.pdf">http://www.oireachtas.ie/parliament/media/committees/pac/correspondence/2012-meeting292302/[PAC-315]Correspondence3.2.pdf</a></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">It is the view of this Blog that Mr. Forde and his two colleagues should re-present themselves before the Public Accounts Committee so that additional questions can be asked now that the true facts are beginning to materialise. It is also important that the IRC properly account for the inaccurate and 'definitive' information they presented despite now admitting they were not in a position to do so. They must be held to account for doing this.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">As part of his conclusion Mr. Forde states in his letter</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">The Irish Red Cross has publicly acknowledged the governance failings that have taken place and apologised for them</i>”</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">The Irish Red Cross fails to comprehend that words are meaningless without action. If the governance failings have been acknowledged why is it that those responsible for these failings such as the Vice Chairman and the Treasurer as well as the acquiescent, complicit and indifferent members of the Central Council and Executive Committee all remain firmly in place controlling and dominating the Society? </p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">Little in reality has changed at the Irish Red Cross. If ever proof was needed the disgraceful performance by Irish Red Cross officials in giving highly inaccurate and incorrect evidence to the Public Accounts Committee confirms this. The culture of deceit, cover up, secrecy, lack of transparency, little or no accountability and appalling governance remains as deep rooted as ever.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">This Blog article will conclude with a quote from a letter written by Ms. Jennifer Bulbulia when she was an Irish Red Cross board member and Honorary Secretary of the Society. The letter was addressed to the then Chairman and copied to the entire board and is dated 16<sup>th</sup> May 2008. It summed up the culture of the Irish Red Cross then and it sums up the culture of the Irish Red Cross in 2012.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">I have attended numerous meetings of the Finance Committee since December and have been truly shocked by the lack of transparency and proper process that has been uncovered</i>”</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012489272112463047.post-47446595940285274592012-02-06T10:56:00.000-08:002012-02-07T12:05:42.143-08:00Irish Red Cross challenged over its evidence to parliamentary investigative committee<p class="MsoNormal"><b>NOTE: On 2nd February 2012 the Dail Public Accounts Committee (PAC) once again (for the 3rd time) returned to the issue of the Irish Red Cross. It seems the PAC has every intention of pursuing the Irish Red Cross over its highly questionable evidence presented at PAC hearing of 19th January 2012. The exact transcript from 2nd February PAC is transcribed below as well as the link to the Parliament's website with the wording:</b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/02/02/00003.asp">http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/02/02/00003.asp</a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b></b></p><p style="font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; "><b><a name="N5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; ">Chairman John Mc Guinness: No. 3.8 is correspondence dated 21 January 2012 from Mr. Noel Wardick, Former Head of International Department, Irish Red Cross regarding the appearance of the Irish Red Cross before the committee on 19 January 2012. It is to be noted and published. The correspondence is to be forwarded to the Irish Red Cross-----</a></b></p><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><a name="N5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "></a></span></span><p style="font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; "><a name="N5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="speaker" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); ">Deputy Eoghan Murphy:</span> </a><a href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=31&MemberID=2288" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 51, 204); "><img src="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/info.gif" border="0" alt="Information on Eoghan Murphy" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; " /></a> <a href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/02/02/member2288.asp" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 51, 204); "><img src="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/zoom.gif" border="0" alt="Zoom on Eoghan Murphy" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; " /></a> <a name="N6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; ">On the last item of correspondence 3.8, my understanding from the letter is that further correspondence is pending where pieces of the transcript will be highlighted for the committee. It is claimed that those pieces are inaccurate. This issue will stay on our agenda for the foreseeable future because there is going to be an issue with some of the evidence that was given at the hearing when the Irish Red Cross appeared before the committee a couple of weeks ago. I want to note that. When that further correspondence comes in, it should be sent to Irish Red Cross to ask for its comments on the issues raised.</a></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><a name="N6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "></a></span></span><p style="font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; "><a name="N6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="speaker" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); ">Chairman:</span> </a><a href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=31&MemberID=741" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 51, 204); "><img src="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/info.gif" border="0" alt="Information on John McGuinness" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; " /></a> <a href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/02/02/member741.asp" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 51, 204); "><img src="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/zoom.gif" border="0" alt="Zoom on John McGuinness" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; " /></a> <a name="N7" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; ">That has to do with evidence given, rather than the record of the meeting. Is that correct?</a></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><a name="N7" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "></a></span></span><p style="font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; "><a name="N7" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="speaker" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); ">Deputy Eoghan Murphy:</span> </a><a href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=31&MemberID=2288" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 51, 204); "><img src="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/info.gif" border="0" alt="Information on Eoghan Murphy" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; " /></a> <a href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/02/02/member2288.asp" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 51, 204); "><img src="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/zoom.gif" border="0" alt="Zoom on Eoghan Murphy" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; " /></a> <a name="N8" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; ">That is correct.</a></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><a name="N8" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "></a></span></span><p style="font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; "><a name="N8" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="speaker" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); ">Deputy Derek Nolan:</span> </a><a href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=31&MemberID=2342" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 51, 204); "><img src="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/info.gif" border="0" alt="Information on Derek Nolan" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; " /></a> <a href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/02/02/member2342.asp" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 51, 204); "><img src="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/zoom.gif" border="0" alt="Zoom on Derek Nolan" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; " /></a> <a name="N9" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; ">Who sent that letter?</a></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><a name="N9" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "></a></span></span><p style="font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; "><a name="N9" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="speaker" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); ">Chairman:</span> </a><a href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=31&MemberID=741" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 51, 204); "><img src="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/info.gif" border="0" alt="Information on John McGuinness" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; " /></a> <a href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/02/02/member741.asp" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 51, 204); "><img src="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/zoom.gif" border="0" alt="Zoom on John McGuinness" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; " /></a> <a name="N10" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; ">Mr. Noel Wardick.</a></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><a name="N10" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "></a></span></span><p style="font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; "><a name="N10" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="speaker" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); ">Deputy Derek Nolan:</span> </a><a href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=31&MemberID=2342" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 51, 204); "><img src="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/info.gif" border="0" alt="Information on Derek Nolan" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; " /></a> <a href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/02/02/member2342.asp" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 51, 204); "><img src="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/zoom.gif" border="0" alt="Zoom on Derek Nolan" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; " /></a> <a name="N11" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; ">That is fine.</a></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><a name="N11" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "></a></span></span><p style="font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; "><a name="N11" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="speaker" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); ">Chairman:</span> </a><a href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=31&MemberID=741" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 51, 204); "><img src="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/info.gif" border="0" alt="Information on John McGuinness" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; " /></a> <a href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/02/02/member741.asp" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 51, 204); "><img src="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/zoom.gif" border="0" alt="Zoom on John McGuinness" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; " /></a> <a name="N12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; ">Is that okay? Agreed.</a></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><a name="N12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "></a></span></span><p style="font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; "><a name="N12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="speaker" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); ">Deputy Derek Nolan:</span> </a><a href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=31&MemberID=2342" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 51, 204); "><img src="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/info.gif" border="0" alt="Information on Derek Nolan" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; " /></a> <a href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/02/02/member2342.asp" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 51, 204); "><img src="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/zoom.gif" border="0" alt="Zoom on Derek Nolan" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; " /></a> <a name="N13" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; ">Are we in a position to continue to challenge the Irish Red Cross or are we at the discretion of its goodwill to come back to the committee? As the Irish Red Cross is not obliged to report to the committee what is the position?</a></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><a name="N13" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "></a></span></span><p style="font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; "><a name="N13" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="speaker" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); ">Chairman:</span> </a><a href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=31&MemberID=741" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 51, 204); "><img src="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/info.gif" border="0" alt="Information on John McGuinness" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; " /></a> <a href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/02/02/member741.asp" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 51, 204); "><img src="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/zoom.gif" border="0" alt="Zoom on John McGuinness" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; " /></a> <a name="N14" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; ">Once it has given the evidence and it has been heard and there are issues arising from that, we are obliged to continue with it, and the Irish Red Cross is obliged to answer.</a></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><a name="N14" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "></a></span></span><p style="font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; "><a name="N14" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="speaker" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); ">Deputy Derek Nolan:</span> </a><a href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=31&MemberID=2342" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 51, 204); "><img src="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/info.gif" border="0" alt="Information on Derek Nolan" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; " /></a> <a href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/02/02/member2342.asp" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 51, 204); "><img src="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/zoom.gif" border="0" alt="Zoom on Derek Nolan" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; " /></a> <a name="N15" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; ">Okay.</a></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><a name="N15" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "></a></span></span><p style="font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; "><a name="N15" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="speaker" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); ">Chairman:</span> </a><a href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=31&MemberID=741" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 51, 204); "><img src="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/info.gif" border="0" alt="Information on John McGuinness" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; " /></a> <a href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/02/02/member741.asp" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 51, 204); "><img src="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/zoom.gif" border="0" alt="Zoom on John McGuinness" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; " /></a> <a name="N16" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; ">That is probably the route this will take.</a></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><a name="N16" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "></a></span></span><p style="font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; "><a name="N16" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="speaker" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); ">Deputy Eoghan Murphy:</span> </a><a href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=31&MemberID=2288" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 51, 204); "><img src="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/info.gif" border="0" alt="Information on Eoghan Murphy" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; " /></a> <a href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/02/02/member2288.asp" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 51, 204); "><img src="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/zoom.gif" border="0" alt="Zoom on Eoghan Murphy" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; " /></a> <a name="N17" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; ">I wish to come back in on that issue. Deputy Nolan is correct on one point that we cannot keep on harassing people who have taken the time to appear before the committee and explain themselves. Following the appearance of the Irish Red Cross a number of people, not just Mr. Noel Wardick, have been in touch with me to express their concerns about certain things that were said, and people who were not previously in touch with me and who might have been named at that meeting, might have an issue with things that were said about their role or what knowledge they may or may not have had at the time. For that reason it is important that we continue to address the issue and bring to the Irish Red Cross those elements of the evidence it gave on the day.</a></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><a name="N17" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "></a></span></span><p style="font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; "><a name="N17" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="speaker" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); ">Chairman:</span> </a><a href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=31&MemberID=741" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 51, 204); "><img src="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/info.gif" border="0" alt="Information on John McGuinness" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; " /></a> <a href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/02/02/member741.asp" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 51, 204); "><img src="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/zoom.gif" border="0" alt="Zoom on John McGuinness" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; " /></a> <a name="N18" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; ">We can do that but there is a valid point in terms of Deputy Nolan has said. We cannot continue on willy nilly, we have to draw a line somewhere. Perhaps as we study the correspondence and the crossfire that has taken place, we can bring it to a natural end at some stage.</a></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><a name="N18" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "></a></span></span><p style="font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; "><a name="N18" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="speaker" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); ">Deputy Eoghan Murphy:</span> </a><a href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=31&MemberID=2288" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 51, 204); "><img src="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/info.gif" border="0" alt="Information on Eoghan Murphy" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; " /></a> <a href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/02/02/member2288.asp" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 51, 204); "><img src="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/images/zoom.gif" border="0" alt="Zoom on Eoghan Murphy" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; " /></a> <a name="N19" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; ">Hopefully.</a></p><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; "><a name="N19" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; ">Main Blog Article:</a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><a name="N19" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "></a></span></span></b><p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">On 19<sup>th</sup> January 2012 the Irish Red Cross was hauled over the coals by Ireland’s most senior parliamentary committee, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). As readers of this blog will be familiar the reason for the Society’s appearance before the Committee is the extensive misgovernance and financial irregularities at the charity.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">In the course of giving evidence representatives of the Irish Red Cross told untruths and misrepresented facts. The evidence and excuses provided left many observers including the members of parliament sitting on the PAC shocked, angered and bemused. </p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">Those responsible must be held to account for the evidence and inaccuracies provided. They must also apologise publicly and on the record as well as stating why they told untruths and clarify whether they did so knowingly. If they did so unknowingly the people who provided them the inaccurate information need to be removed from the Society immediately. If on the other hand the Irish Red Cross representatives provided inaccurate information knowingly they must resign forthwith.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">At least two individuals have already formally and on record written to the Public Accounts Committee challenging the evidence provided by the Society. Following a review of this correspondence the PAC decided to publish both letters on public record. The two letters are transcribed in full below and the links to their publication on the Dail/Oireachtas website are also provided. </p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">The letter written by Noel Wardick, former Head of International at the Irish Red Cross has been forwarded by PAC to the Irish Red Cross. The PAC has requested a formal written response from the Society to Wardick’s letter. This response will be published by PAC in due course. </p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">It is very important that the PAC continues to pursue and challenge the Irish Red Cross who seemed to be under the mistaken illusion that once the PAC hearing on the 19<sup>th</sup> January concluded the matter would be closed. The Public Accounts Committee obviously takes a very dim view of receiving inaccurate and untruthful information.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">The link to Noel Wardick’s published letter is:</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:black;"><a href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/parliament/media/committees/pac/correspondence/2012-meeting260202/%5bPAC-R-262%5dCorrespondence-3.8.pdf">http://www.oireachtas.ie/parliament/media/committees/pac/correspondence/2012-meeting260202/[PAC-R-262]Correspondence-3.8.pdf</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">The second letter to be published by PAC was written by Mr. Gerard Moyne, a current life member of the Irish Red Cross. Of particular note in Mr. Moyne’s letter is his assertion, contrary to what the Irish Red Cross has led us to believe, that is was not only not common practice for branches to open separate branch bank accounts for overseas appeals money but that such a practice was in fact frowned upon. Mr. Moyne claims that during his time as a Red Cross branch secretary overseas appeals monies were always expeditiously transferred directly to Irish Red Cross HQ in Dublin. The opposite happened in Tipperary where the national Vice Chairman, Anthony (Tony) Lawlor, was a bank account signatory. The link to Mr. Moyne’s letter is:</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><a href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/parliament/media/committees/pac/correspondence/2012-meeting252601/%5BPAC-R-253%5DCorrespondence-3.6.pdf">http://www.oireachtas.ie/parliament/media/committees/pac/correspondence/2012-meeting252601/%5BPAC-R-253%5DCorrespondence-3.6.pdf</a></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">The full transcript of Wardick’s letter is as follows:</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>21<sup>st</sup> January 2012</i></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i>Mr. John Mc Guinness, TD</i></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i>Chairman,</i></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i>Public Accounts Committee,</i></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i>Leinster House,</i></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i>Kildare Street,</i></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i>Dublin 2.</i></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><i> </i></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><i>Public Accounts Committee Hearing into Irish Red Cross 19<sup>th</sup> January 2012<o:p></o:p></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><o:p><i> </i></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i>Dear Chairman,</i></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><i> </i></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i>I watched the above hearing live on line and I can only describe my reaction to the statements and answers provided by the Irish Red Cross as one of shock, outrage and disgust. </i></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><i> </i></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i>The extent of misinformation and quite frankly untruths told is staggering. To do so on public record, in our national parliament and before elected representatives is astounding. </i></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><i> </i></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i>I believe great damage has been done to the image and reputation of the Red Cross, its emblem and everything it stands for. Based on what I witnessed at the hearing I greatly fear for the future, the integrity and the welfare of the Irish Red Cross. </i></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><i> </i></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i>Whether the Irish Red Cross representatives believed what they were saying to be accurate and true only they will ever know. Regardless it does not take away from the inaccuracy of very substantial parts of their evidence.</i></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><i> </i></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i>I intend to respond in detail to the statements and answers provided by the Red Cross representatives once the full transcript of the hearing becomes available. I will forward this to the Public Accounts Committee and the Department of Defence as a formal record.</i></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><i> </i></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i>In relation to one issue, however, I will record my view now. It is factually incorrect to say that when the Tipperary account was first discovered in 2008 that the then Head of Finance told nobody and that for a number of years no board member therefore knew about the account’s existence and/or discovery. In 2008 when the bank account was discovered at least three senior board members were informed. One of these subsequently resigned over the organisation’s failure to investigate the matter as well as other concerns the person had surrounding governance and finance. A fourth, the Vice Chairman who was one of the signatories on the Tipperary bank account, also obviously knew. </i></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><i> </i></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i>In addition to these board members the Secretary General of the Society at the time was immediately informed (2008). I am sure this can easily be verified by the individual who is currently a senior civil servant in the Department of Justice and Defence (he was on secondment to the Irish Red Cross as Secretary General at the time of the bank account’s discovery). </i></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><i> </i></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i>As Head of the International Department I was personally informed by the Secretary General of the bank account’s discovery circa Sept/Oct 2008. I have email correspondence to the Secretary General in early October 2008 stating that I felt the Vice Chairman should resign over the matter. I can provide a copy of this email if required. I continually called (until my dismissal) for an independent investigation into the account (at senior management meetings, at staff meetings and during numerous private discussions with two separate Secretary Generals).</i></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><i> </i></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i>I would like to take this opportunity to thank you as Chair Deputy Mc Guinness and all members of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) for investigating the Irish Red Cross and the allegations of misgovernance and financial malpractice. Given the enormous workload on the Committee there are many of us very appreciative that the PAC discussed this issue not only once but on two separate occasions, 13<sup>th</sup> October 2011 and 19<sup>th</sup> January 2012. </i></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><i> </i></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i>I think it only correct to note Deputy Kieran O’ Donnell for being an excellent Chair on the 19<sup>th</sup> and for allowing the hearing continue for well over two and a half hours thereby facilitating a rigorous and detailed questioning of the Irish Red Cross. Interventions by Deputies Derek Nolan, Simon Harris and Anne Ferris were also extremely important. In particular, however, I would wish to commend the lead questioner on the 19<sup>th</sup>, Deputy Eoghan Murphy. His knowledge of the subject matter was detailed and comprehensive and as such must have entailed a considerable investment of time, energy and preparation. In a time when public representatives are seemingly continually and collectively criticised I would want to put on record my own appreciation to all of those on PAC who obviously put significant effort and work into this case.</i></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><i> </i></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i>Yours sincerely,</i></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><i> </i></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i>Noel Wardick</i></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><i> </i></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i>12 Conquer Hill Avenue,</i></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i>Clontarf,</i></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i>Dublin 3.</i></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><i> </i></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i>Cc: Minister for Justice and Defence, Mr. Alan Shatter, TD</i></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><i> </i></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">The full transcript of Mr. Moyne’s letter to PAC is below:</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i>Inishoneil</i></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i>Carndonagh</i></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i>Co. Donegal</i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span style="color:black;"><i> <o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i>23<sup>rd</sup> January 2012</i></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i> </i></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i>FAO </i></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><i> </i></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i>The Chairperson<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>& Committee Members</i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%;background:white"><span style="color:black;"><i>Eoin Kinane<br />Committee Secretariat<br />Committee of Public Accounts<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%;background:white"><span style="color:black;"><i> Dear Mr Kinane,<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%;background:white"><span style="color:black;"><i> <o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%;background:white"><span style="color:black;"><i>I would appreciate it if you would circulate this letter to committee members of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%;background:white"><span style="color:black;"><i> <o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%;background:white"><span style="color:black;"><i>On Thursday last (19<sup>th</sup> January), I attended as an observer the meeting PAC held with representatives of the Dept. of Defence and the representatives of the Irish Red Cross Society.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%;background:white"><span style="color:black;"><i> <o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%;background:white"><span style="color:black;"><i>I must state it is difficult as a committed member of the Irish Red Cross of some 38 years to observe the charade that was presented to the Committee. One might liken the evidence given by the Irish Red Cross to that given to a similar commission set up in the <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">USA</st1:place></st1:country-region> to investigate the events of 9/11. The evidence given to that commission is widely recognised as having blurred the facts as opposed to highlighting them. The Red Cross did not however present the facts to your Committee they waffled their way through the proceedings stating fiction as fact and presenting fact to support fiction. <o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%;background:white"><span style="color:black;"><i> <o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%;background:white"><span style="color:black;"><i>The burglary of the Irish Red Cross head office in the 1980’s was used to add credence to a belief that the failures to present property information in the Society’s accounts were as a result of something that happened some three decades ago. Had the time frame been added when the Irish Red Cross answered the property questions I am sure the Committee would have been less than impressed.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%;background:white"><span style="color:black;"><i> <o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%;background:white"><span style="color:black;"><i>When the PAC produce a transcript of the hearing I will respond in detail why it is I firmly believe that most of what was presented to the committee is fundamentally flawed and much of it inaccurate. <o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%;background:white"><span style="color:black;"><i> <o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%;background:white"><span style="color:black;"><i>I did find the comments less than amusing of how ‘delighted’ all the IRC representatives were to be sitting giving evidence to the <st1:place st="on">PAC.</st1:place> I feel that they should be totally ashamed and embarrassed, that given the facts, they truly are responsible for a litany of unforgivable errors. They should be ashamed to have brought the good name of the Red Cross into disrepute, not delighted having to defend its good name and explain their financial and governance irregularities.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%;background:white"><span style="color:black;"><i> <o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%;background:white"><span style="color:black;"><i>I will state for the record that prior to the official line that no one knew about the Tipperary money for a very lengthy period after its discovery in 2008 by Mr Declan O Sullivan the facts are that quite a few people knew, the matter was being widely discussed amongst the membership in 2008 and 2009 that the Vice Chairman of the Society had not only failed to declare the Tsunami money but that the Tipperary Branch had not made returns at all to head office in several years, in downright breach of policy at the time (this is noted in the internal review into the Tipperary bank account). This information was being widely discussed on the grapevine amongst staff and volunteers.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%;background:white"><span style="color:black;"><i> <o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%;background:white"><span style="color:black;"><i>Might I also comment on the issue of staff failures to control the level of monies coming in for the Tsunami Appeal.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>For many years prior to this, with alot less staff, large appeals were held for <st1:country-region st="on">Armenia</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region st="on">Somalia</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Sudan</st1:place></st1:country-region>: to name but a few.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This excuse has no grounding. The failure was with the board and NOT with staff who are being targeted by those board members and one or two senior managers guilty and complicit in this cover up.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%;background:white"><span style="color:black;"><i> <o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%;background:white"><span style="color:black;"><i>During my time over a several year period as Secretary of the Red Cross in Donegal, it was not as stated to you at the PAC, a practice to put Appeal money into Branch accounts, in fact this was frowned upon. All money was sent directly to Head Office. This can easily be verified by production of Branch Accounts. It is very disconcerting that Red Cross staff are once again being blamed for what was an attempt to hide money.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%;background:white"><span style="color:black;"><i> <o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%;background:white"><span style="color:black;"><i>I must congratulate the Committee for its respect of the good name of the Red Cross and the recognition of its vital role in our Society. I am sure the Committee were, as I was, stunned at the current Irish Red Cross leaders unwillingness to have the vice chairman stand down having held office for an inordinate period of twenty one years. <o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%;background:white"><span style="color:black;"><i>They stated that they cannot get a single person out of the so called five thousand volunteers to take on the roles of the Treasurer and Vice Chairman. This is a derisible excuse. <o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%;background:white"><span style="color:black;"><i> <o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%;background:white"><span style="color:black;"><i>I look forward to presenting my views in detail on the disgraceful performance of the Irish Red Cross at the PAC on the 19<sup>th</sup> January. It is important that the public record shows fact.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%;background:white"><span style="color:black;"><i> <o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%;background:white"><span style="color:black;"><i>I am most concerned that the characters of a number of persons have been brought into disrepute by Mr Forde and Mr O Callaghan in the giving of their evidence. I trust the PAC will allow the records to show that these persons have been given an opportunity to respond to the allegations presented to the <st1:place st="on">PAC.</st1:place> I have no doubt that these persons will in due course respond to the allegations by the Red Cross against them.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%;background:white"><span style="color:black;"><i> <o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%;background:white"><span style="color:black;"><i> <o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%;background:white"><span style="color:black;"><i>Sincerely yours<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%;background:white"><span style="color:black;"><i> <o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%;background:white"><span style="color:black;"><i>Gerard Moyne<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%;background:white"><span style="color:black;"><i>Life Member Irish Red Cross<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><i> </i></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>Half a truth is often a great lie</i></b>-Benjamin Franklin</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com41tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012489272112463047.post-57429993332644659982012-01-25T11:16:00.000-08:002012-01-25T11:16:00.309-08:00"Bad administration, bad governance, bad controls"-Irish Red Cross Secretary General, Donal Forde<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i><b>Note:</b> The link to the full transcript of the Public Accounts Committee hearing into the Irish Red Cross is at the bottom of this article.</i></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">Under sustained questioning from well briefed and well prepared members of the Irish parliament the Irish Red Cross Secretary General, Donal Forde, was forced to admit the Society had suffered from “bad administration, bad governance, bad controls”. His admission was given in evidence at the parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Hearing into financial mismanagement and misgovernance at the Irish Red Cross on 19<sup>th</sup> January 2012. </p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">Similarly under pressure the Irish Red Cross Chairman, David O’ Callaghan, conceded the situation around the discovery of 49 undisclosed bank accounts and the involvement of the national Vice Chairman, Anthony (Tony) Lawlor, in the largest of the undisclosed accounts was “a mess”.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">The Irish Red Cross admitted that despite the scale of the crisis and the errors and wrongs committed by certain board members “no disciplinary action” was taken.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">Throughout the entire proceedings it was clear for all those watching to witness the look of disbelief, exasperation and incredulity on the faces of the PAC members as the Irish Red Cross struggled to provide acceptable and credible answers. </p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">The 19<sup>th</sup> January 2012 was a shameful day in the history of the Irish Red Cross. It was a new low for the Society to have its leaders provide a litany of untruths, inaccuracies and falsehoods on public record before the Irish Parliament. </p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">It is the view of this Blog that those who issued these untruths should resign immediately before any further damage is done to the Society. Every attempt will be made to expose these untruths and falsehoods. They will not go unchallenged.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">The position of the national Vice Chairman is completely untenable and it is clear from reading the transcripts of the PAC hearing that the Committee members feel the same. Mr Lawlor’s continued presence on the board and other committees of the Irish Red Cross continues to do irreparable damage to the Society’s image, credibility and reputation. Surely the Society will not re-appoint Mr. Lawlor for the 22<sup>nd</sup> year in a row in May 2012. To do so will bring howls of derision down on the Society. The Blog has also called on numerous occasions for the resignation of the national Treasurer whose inactions make him fully complicit in the “mess” referred to by the Chairman, David O’ Callaghan. </p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">The Irish Red Cross should use the occasion of the special Central Council meeting scheduled for 10th March 2012 to announce the permanent departure of the Vice Chairman and Treasurer.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">The Irish Red Cross no doubt believed the PAC hearing on 19<sup>th</sup> January 2012 would draw a line under the sand of recent controversies, mismanagement, misgovernance and financial irregularities. Because of the depth and extent of the untruths and misrepresentation of facts told at the hearing the Society has plunged itself into a whole new crisis. Not only does this risk entangling senior individuals from the previous leadership who have since resigned but it also embroils the new leadership. </p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">Once again the crisis and reputational damage facing the Society is entirely self inflicted. If the values of integrity, honesty, openness, transparency, justice and courage prevailed all this could have been completely avoided. Unfortunately, that is not the Irish Red Cross way.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">The Blog intends to go through in minute detail the transcripts from the hearing. It will formally respond to the Department of Defence and the Public Accounts Committee. In doing so the Blog will outline all untruths and falsehoods so that the truth is formally recorded and available to the public. It is essential the Irish Red Cross is held fully accountable for their actions. Every attempt will be made to do so.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">The link to the full official transcript of the hearing is:</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><a href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/01/19/00004.asp">http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2012/01/19/00004.asp</a></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i>Peace if possible, truth at all costs</i>-Martin Luther King</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012489272112463047.post-79482641816883985372012-01-19T09:58:00.000-08:002012-01-23T01:28:38.219-08:00Parliamentary Committee exposes financial and governance scandals at Irish Red Cross<p class="MsoNormal">NOTE: <i>The Examiner newspaper carries an article in its 20th Jan 2012 edition concerning the admission in Parliament by the Irish Red Cross that its serving Vice Chairman, Tony Lawlor, was one of the signatories on an undisclosed bank account containing €160,000. The link to the article is:</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/red-cross-admits-vice-chairman-was-signatory-on-undisclosed-bank-account-180840.html">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/red-cross-admits-vice-chairman-was-signatory-on-undisclosed-bank-account-180840.html</a></p><p class="MsoNormal">NOTE 2: The Public Accounts Committee has published on public record the following letter from Noel Wardick to Irish Red Cross Chairman, David O' Callaghan:</p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/parliament/media/committees/pac/correspondence/2012-meeting241901/%5BPAC-R-237%5DCorrespondence-3.7.pdf">http://www.oireachtas.ie/parliament/media/committees/pac/correspondence/2012-meeting241901/%5BPAC-R-237%5DCorrespondence-3.7.pdf</a></p><p class="MsoNormal">The Irish Red Cross was subjected to nearly three hours of vigorous and robust questioning by the Dail’s (Irish Parliament) All Party Public Accounts Committee (PAC) earlier today 19<sup>th</sup> January 2012.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The well prepared members of the Committee (all elected representatives) exposed once again the scandalous goings-on at the Society over the last number of years. PAC members looked shocked, exasperated and disgusted with many of the responses from the Irish Red Cross Secretary General, Donal Forde and the Chairman, David O’ Callaghan.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">This Blog has written at length about the misgovernance and financial irregularities at the Irish Red Cross. It was of the view it could no longer be shocked by the Society’s cover ups and deceit. How wrong the Blog was. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Today in Ireland’s national parliament the Irish Red Cross told clear and blatant untruths to elected public representatives. In time and once the full transcript is available this Blog will document in detail every single one of those untruths and seek that those responsible are fully held to account for their actions. </p><p class="MsoNormal">This disgusting debacle must stop and these individuals must not be permitted any longer to make a mockery of the Irish public, of elected representatives, of genuine Irish Red Cross volunteers and staff and of our national parliament. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">It is high time for the International Red Cross in Geneva (both ICRC and IFRC) to come off the sidelines and prevent any further damage to and deterioration of the credibility of the Red Cross in Ireland. The Red Cross emblem and everything it stands for is being trampled into the ground by individuals prepared to deceive and misrepresent at the highest levels. Geneva, its time to wake up and do your job: protect the Red Cross emblem before irreparable damage is done.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The 19th January 2012, a day of infamy for the Irish Red Cross.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">RTE (Ireland’s national broadcaster) has carried the below news article on the Irish Red Cross performance:</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:5.25pt;line-height:13.2pt;mso-outline-level: 2;background:white"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><b><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman";letter-spacing:-.75pt;mso-font-kerning:18.0pt; mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:22.0pt;color:#333333;">Irish Red Cross did not disclose bank accounts<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:9.0pt;line-height:16.8pt;background: white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language: EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:8.5pt;color:#DD510C;">Updated: 12:42, Thursday, 19 January 2012<o:p></o:p></span></p> <div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border-top:dotted #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left:none;border-bottom:dotted #CCCCCC 1.0pt;border-right:none; mso-border-top-alt:dotted #CCCCCC .75pt;mso-border-bottom-alt:dotted #CCCCCC .75pt; padding:8.0pt 0cm 8.0pt 0cm;background:white"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:10.5pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom: 10.5pt;margin-left:0cm;line-height:normal;background:white;border:none; mso-border-top-alt:dotted #CCCCCC .75pt;mso-border-bottom-alt:dotted #CCCCCC .75pt; padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:8.0pt 0cm 8.0pt 0cm"><span style=" font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:8.5pt;"><script></script></span><b><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language: EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:12.5pt;color:#444444;">The Irish Red Cross, under questioning at The Public Accounts Committee, has said that one of the two signatories on a previously undisclosed bank account was Vice Chairman of the Society nationally. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p> </div> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; text-align: center; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background- background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:85%;color:#444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:9.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:9.0pt; margin-left:0cm;line-height:16.8pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#444444;"><span style="line-height:115%; font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-IE;mso-fareast-language:EN-IE;mso-bidi-language: AR-SAfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#444444;">The Irish Red Cross, under questioning at The Public Accounts Committee, has said that one of the two signatories on a previously undisclosed bank account, valued at €160,000, was Vice Chairman of the Society nationally</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:9.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:9.0pt; margin-left:0cm;line-height:16.8pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#444444;">He still remains the Vice Chairman. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:9.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:9.0pt; margin-left:0cm;line-height:16.8pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#444444;">Representatives of the charitable organisation, have confirmed that when the Head of Finance was made aware of this account and 48 other undisclosed accounts (to the value of €200,000 in total), he did not disclose the accounts to the Board of the Society. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:9.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:9.0pt; margin-left:0cm;line-height:16.8pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#444444;">The sitting Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, Kieran O'Donnell, said it seemed extraordinary that the Head of Finance did not disclose such accounts to the Board. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:9.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:9.0pt; margin-left:0cm;line-height:16.8pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#444444;">Eoghan Murphy, member of the Public Accounts Committe, questioned why someone would continue in position of governance in the Society for 27 years considering there are serious questions raised, particularly by the Minister of Defence, in relation to poor governance in the Irish Red Cross. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:9.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:9.0pt; margin-left:0cm;line-height:16.8pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#444444;">Deputy Murphy said this "flies in the face of good governance". <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:9.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:9.0pt; margin-left:0cm;line-height:16.8pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#444444;">His assertion was challenged by Donal Forde, newly appointed Secretary General of the Irish Red Cross, claiming that the Society has completely overhauled its system of governance, and all the branches of the society will be audited for 2011. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:9.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:9.0pt; margin-left:0cm;line-height:16.8pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#444444;">He added that an investigation was carried out by the society and there was no malevolence found, and no misappropriation of money, but it was clear there was poor governance. He confirmed there was no disciplinary action taken. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:9.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:9.0pt; margin-left:0cm;line-height:16.8pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#444444;">Mr. David O'Callaghan, The Chairman of the Irish Red Cross, admitted "there was a mess", and there was bad governance. But he added this was a restricted account, no cent was moved or was missing. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:9.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:9.0pt; margin-left:0cm;line-height:16.8pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:EN-IEfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#444444;">He added that an investigation was put in train and changes have been made in relation to codes of conduct, auditing and governance in the Irish Red Cross.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012489272112463047.post-398310224358753842012-01-14T12:42:00.000-08:002012-01-14T12:56:24.847-08:00Irish Parliament continues its investigation into financial mismanagement & poor corporate governance at Irish Red CrossOn the 19th January 2012 the Dail (Irish Parliament) will reconvene its investigation into financial mismanagement and poor corporate governance at the Irish Red Cross. The investigation is being carried out by the parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), the most senior of the Dail’s all-party committees.<br /><br />The Hearing on the 19th, at which the Irish Red Cross has been requested to attend to account for its actions, must represent one of the lowest points in the Irish Red Cross’s already highly chequered history. The Society’s record on integrity, openness, competence, accountability, transparency, professionalism, financial management and corporate governance has been widely questioned for over twenty years. The Dail’s investigation on 19th January 2012 represents the culmination of this appalling 20 year history of lies, deceit and cover up.<br /><br />The Public Accounts Committee will take up its investigation where it left off from the Hearing of 13th October 2011. At this the Secretary General of the Department of Defence (which has statutory responsibility for the Irish Red Cross) was robustly questioned by PAC members (all elected representatives). The Secretary General struggled to answers questions in a satisfactory manner. His weak performance and difficulty in answering questions led the PAC Committee to determine that another hearing was required where the Irish Red Cross leadership would be asked to explain their actions and to account for their behaviour.<br /><br />It will be interesting to see who represents the Irish Red Cross at the hearing on the 19th. Presumably it will be the Chairman, David O’ Callaghan and Secretary General, Donal Forde.<br /><br />Readers should note that the hearing is held in public and can be viewed live on line by visiting the Oireacthas website (and then clicking on one of the Committee Rooms until the room with the PAC hearing appears). The Hearing is scheduled for 10.00 am on 19th January:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/ViewDoc.asp?fn=/documents/livewebcast/Web-Live.htm&CatID=83&m=o">http://www.oireachtas.ie/ViewDoc.asp?fn=/documents/livewebcast/Web-Live.htm&CatID=83&m=o</a><br /><br />The 19th January 2012 represents an important opportunity for the Irish Red Cross to finally and once and for all tell the truth and nothing but the truth. The Irish Red Cross should note that a half truth is in fact a full lie. This Blog does not expect the Irish Red Cross to tell the full truth and nothing but the truth but nevertheless it hopes it will. Telling the truth is the right thing to do. The Irish Red Cross has a very poor record of doing the right thing, in particular when it comes to accountability, financial management, integrity and corporate governance. The 19th January 2012 is a chance therefore to break with the past. Will Irish Red Cross take it? Highly doubtful. The Blog will of course be happy to be proven wrong on this.<br /><br />On the 19th January 2012 the Irish Red Cross should at a minimum and on public record:<br /><br />1. Announce an immediate independent investigation into the use of possibly millions of Euros intended for overseas disaster appeals but instead used for domestic expenditure and projects. It is appropriate to announce this just as the 2nd anniversary of the Haiti Earthquake has passed. As this Blog has reported many times the Irish Red Cross allocated over €600,000 intended for Haiti to its domestic accounts in 2010. A similar practice has existed at the Society for over 20 years. This unethical morally reprehensible betrayal of the Irish public is deserving of an independent investigation.<br />2. Following 1 above the Irish Red Cross should commit to returning all monies used inappropriately domestically back to the various overseas appeals the money was originally taken from. The Blog accepts that this would likely have to be done over a number of years as millions of Euros may be involved. As a first step and as a gesture of genuine intent the €600,000 taken from the Haiti appeal should be immediately returned. A failure by the Irish Red Cross to announce points 1 and 2 will confirm to all and sundry that the Society is prepared to lie and deceive and to do so at the highest levels of Irish public oversight. It will be a shocking indictment on not only the Irish Red Cross but on the Red Cross globally.<br />3. Announce the immediate resignation of the Vice Chairman and Treasurer in the interests of best practice, good governance and as a statement of clear intent that henceforth people in the Irish Red Cross regardless of their privileged board positions will be held accountable for their actions and inactions. If the Irish Red Cross cannot give cast iron assurances that both the Vice Chairman and Treasurer will resign immediately (or as a compromise step down at the end of their current terms in April 2012) and never again serve on the Executive Committee, Central Committee or any other committee or body of the Irish Red Cross then it will be confirmed for all to see that their statements on governance reform and commitments to good practice are meaningless.<br />4. Confirm that a 3 year mandatory break in board service will apply to both the Central Council and the Executive Committee after a maximum of 6 years service (2 terms of three years). Under the proposed new Irish Red Cross Constitution members can serve for life on Central Council. It must be absolutely compulsory to step down after 6 years. Under the proposed Constitution a member who has served 6 years on the Executive Committee only has to step down if another person is nominated for the post. If no-one is nominated then the incumbent does not have to step down. Those familiar with the Irish Red Cross will know too well that this will result in people being strongly discouraged from putting their names forward so as to ensure certain long serving members can remain on well past 6 years.<br />5. Confirm that the proposed Constitution will be amended to ensure cumulative service (past service) is taken into account when calculating if a member has served on the Central Council/Executive Committee in excess of 6 years. As it currently stands service to date is not taken into account. Only future service is to be considered in the calculations. Should Irish Red Cross announce this proposed amendment then any current Central Council or Executive Committee member who has already served for more than six years should step down in April 2012. The current situation whereby the Society refuses to take into account service to-date makes a mockery of its statements that it is committed to governance reform and best practice. The Irish Red Cross continues to ignore Minister Shatter’s wishes in this regard.<br />6. Issue a public apology to those families who donated property to the Irish Red Cross over the last number of decades and for which the Irish Red Cross never accounted for or recorded in its financial statements and balance sheet and for which the Irish Red Cross lost track of titles and deeds. The failure of the Irish Red Cross, in breach of financial practice, to properly record, account and utilise these assets is a testament to the abject incompetence of its governance over decades. The families who donated these high value assets deserve a public apology and a clear statement outlining how the Society intends rectifying the situation.<br />7. Explain to the PAC and the Irish public how it is that the Irish Red Cross, in its 72 year history, has failed to ever carry out a full organisational wide external audit. This is in flagrant breach of its own ‘Rules of the Society’ which mandates that a full organisational wide audit take place every six months. In 72 years a full external audit has never occured. An external audit only takes place of the head office in Merrion Square, Dublin. This external audit has never included the branches, areas or regions and as such millions and millions of Euros have remained unaudited for seven decades. The Irish Red Cross must announce that the 2011 finances will be subject to a full organisation wide external audit and that the audit will not be restricted to just the head office. It must state that the branches, areas and regions will be subjected to an extensive external audit and that this will happen every year henceforth. It is incomprehensible how an organisation in receipt of government and public funding to the tune of millions of Euros over decades has never been externally audited. The consequences of this are obvious for all to see.<br /><br />The Blog has no doubt many more issues could be added to the list above but if the 7 points are addressed as outlined real progress will have been made in transforming the Irish Red Cross. The Irish Red Cross will say alot of the 'right' things on January 19th...committed to reform, change taking place, mistakes made in the past, lots of new policies, progress being made etc etc but to determine if there is any substance to their statements it is necessary to scratch the surface and look at the above 7 issues. If the Irish Red Cross is not prepared to implement the 7 points as outlined then we will know nothing has changed. The Society will have confirmed that they have no intention of holding individuals to account and no desire to part with the despicable governance culture that has brought disgrace and shame on the organisation. By mid-day on January 19th 2012 we will know one way or the other.<br /><br /><em>You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time</em>-Abraham LincolnUnknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012489272112463047.post-85106223579751271682012-01-01T01:11:00.000-08:002012-01-01T01:11:00.524-08:00Irish Red Cross ends 2011 back in media spotlight for all the wrong reasonsThe Irish Red Cross concluded 2011 just as it had started it, in the national media for all the wrong reasons.<br /><br />On the 25th December 2011 the Sunday Independent, Ireland’s largest selling newspaper, in its Christmas Day edition carried a large and detailed article on the ongoing financial irregularities and misgovernance at the Society. The article demonstrated the extent of the financial inadequacies as well as reporting on Minister Alan Shatter’s displeasure at the long board service of a number of Irish Red Cross members.<br /><br />In his end of year report to the Central Council the Irish Red Cross Chairman, David O’Callaghan, attempted to blame everybody including politicians, former staff, current and former members and volunteers as well as the media for the woes of the Society. This staggering display of delusion would appear to have been rewarded by the Sunday Independent with another well written article outlining the litany of problems the Society has encountered in recent years. The Sunday Independent informed its readers it has a copy of the Central Council report which it quoted from extensively.<br /><br />Following the Sunday Independent article perhaps the Chairman and Board members within Irish Red Cross will desist from blaming others on the Society’s dysfunction and perhaps concentrate on dealing with and removing those who are responsible. Shooting the messenger never achieves anything.<br /><br />The full transcript of the Sunday Independent article is transcribed below or alternatively can be read by clicking on the following link:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.independent.ie/national-news/red-cross-needs-year-to-shake-off-bad-press-2973022.html">http://www.independent.ie/national-news/red-cross-needs-year-to-shake-off-bad-press-2973022.html</a><br /><br />In addition to the above article the Irish Red Cross, in a statement to the Irish Independent for an article on falling donations to charities on 29th December 2011, was reported as saying that “<em>fundraising was on a par with last year</em> (2010)”. This statement was issued to the media by Irish Red Cross spokesperson Rebecca Thorn.<br /><br />In his report to the Central Council issued in early December, Chairman David O’ Callaghan stated the following “<em>All of our revenue lines are reducing and we must anticipate that this trend will continue for the next number of years....Our fundraising income has reduced considerably. As at the 31st October 2011, our gross income is €800k-compared to €1.48m at the same time last year....The revenue streams that have been particularly impacted this year are committed giving, legacies and tax rebates for donations...Our income is reducing significantly and these trends look likely to continue for the short to medium term</em>”.<br /><br />It would seem clear that one message has been given to the Irish Red Cross board and an entirely different and contradictory message given to the Irish public and media. The question must therefore be asked why did the Irish Red Cross spokesperson issue a statement to the media stating that funding in 2011 was on a par with 2010 despite the Chairman clearly stating that funding has declined significantly during 2011. Whoever authorised this apparently misleading statement to the media needs to explain their actions and be held to account immediately. A corrected statement confirming a significant decline in funding needs to be issued to the media to counter the original misrepresentation.<br /><br />In addition, how the same Irish Red Cross spokesperson could say that the response to the Dublin Floods was “a big response” only she will know. With only €30,000 raised it must rank as one of the most poorly responded to national appeals ever launched by the Irish Red Cross.<br /><br />The Irish Independent article can be read on the following link where it will be seen that other charities interviewed had no hesitation in admitting funding had declined during 2011:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.independent.ie/national-news/charities-feel-pinch-after-15pc-decline-in-donations-2975367.html">http://www.independent.ie/national-news/charities-feel-pinch-after-15pc-decline-in-donations-2975367.html</a><br /><br />While we can only hope that during 2012 there will be real accountability within the Irish Red Cross as well as the necessary personnel change at Central Council and Executive Committee level the well known French proverb unfortunately springs to mind <em>plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose<br /></em><br />The full Sunday Independent article of 25th December 2011 is below:<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">Red Cross 'needs year to shake off bad press'<br /></span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Charity beefs up its governance practices after financial failings<br /></span></strong><br />By DANIEL McCONNELL Chief Reporter<br />Sunday December 25 2011<br /><br />THE chairman of the embattled Irish Red Cross, which was dogged by financial and governance failings last year, has said it will be at least another year before it can be fully cleansed of "negative press".<br /><br />In a detailed half yearly report to the charity's central council seen by the Sunday Independent, David O'Callaghan said that 2011 saw a sizeable drop in the number of negative stories about the ongoing "turmoil" at the Irish Red Cross.<br /><br />Mr O'Callaghan said that a small number of current and former volunteers, as well as former staff members, had been conducting a "campaign against the society", which he described as "deeply unhelpful".<br /><br />"The ongoing campaign against the society by former staff, supported by a number of current and former volunteers, is deeply unhelpful. Certain sections of politics and the media remain cynical towards the IRC. It will be another year at least before clear light and distance is put between the society and the negative press of 2010," he wrote.<br /><br />Mr O'Callaghan's report detailed a host of new financial and governance practices which have been introduced since reports of a lack of proper financial control first emerged in early 2010.<br />"The first challenge was the requirement to strengthen our governance and supervisory processes at every level to a standard that meets best practice for the charity sector. This is the only way in which we will conclusively put the turmoil of recent years behind us," he said.<br /><br />Given significant drops in its revenue, from €1.48m in October, 2010, to €800,000 this year, Mr O'Callaghan detailed a cost reduction programme across the society, but also highlighted that many deficiencies in the handling of monies within the society remained.<br /><br />He said that while compliance on financial returns from local branches had improved substantially since 2010, "we still have a lot of work to do".<br /><br />"Some of the issues that have arisen are: lack of supporting information; expenses not vouched correctly; lodgements and cheque books not sequentially numbered; no quarterly returns; no receipt books used; branch committee forms not completed and aged debtors outstanding with head office."<br /><br />All area secretaries and treasurers around the country have been sent a list of issues that remain outstanding and which Mr O'Callaghan said must be dealt with if the Irish Red Cross is to demonstrate its commitment to high standards and to establish the Irish Red Cross as a best practice organisation.<br /><br />As a result of consistent weaknesses in documentation from local branches, Mr O'Callaghan said the organisation's financial officer is calling local treasurers on a daily basis to ensure full compliance.<br /><br />"The financial control environment has changed for us all. We must meet higher and more demanding standards, and branch and area officers must respond appropriately," he added.<br /><br />The Irish Red Cross was heavily criticised back in the summer by Justice Minister Alan Shatter, who has statutory responsibility for the society, and appoints its chairman and members of its board.<br /><br />In July, it emerged that Mr Shatter had written to the Irish Red Cross stating that he opposed long board service and had requested the Irish Red Cross to expeditiously address this problem.<br /><br />The minister clearly stated in Dail Eireann on June 29, 2011, that he is opposed to any board member serving in the same position for more than six years and in a leadership role for a cumulative period of more than 12 years.<br />- <em>DANIEL McCONNELL Chief Reporter<br /></em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012489272112463047.post-21927337050040983052011-12-20T01:02:00.000-08:002011-12-20T01:02:00.295-08:00Transparency International calls for independent investigation into Irish Red CrossOn the 9th December 2011 Transparency International (Ireland), the highly reputable global organisation that fights corruption and abuse of power, wrote an open letter to the Minister for Justice, Defence and Equality, Mr. Alan Shatter, calling on the Irish Red Cross to commission an independent investigation into reports of weak financial management and governance at the Society.<br /><br />Previously Transparency International wrote to the Irish Red Cross but their request for an independent investigation fell on deaf ears. It is of course a damning indictment on the Irish Red Cross that an organisation as credible and highly respected as Transparency International deems it appropriate to call for an independent investigation into the Society’s affairs.<br /><br />It remains to be seen if Minister Shatter responds in any meaningful way to the call by Transparency International. Certain individuals (past and present) at the Irish Red Cross have much to hide and much to fear from an independent investigation. At a minimum it is likely its board members would come in for severe criticism. It is also a possibility that any independent investigation would result in the Garda Fraud Bureau of Investigation being asked to assist although any such call would be a matter for the independent investigation.<br /><br />The question is whether the Minister has the stomach for an investigation as it would undoubtedly involve scrutiny of his own Department. It can be assumed with near certainty, given their record of indifference and inaction and therefore complicity, that senior civil servants in the Department of Defence would not be keen to see any independent investigation take place.<br /><br />The full transcript of the Transparency International letter is transcribed below and can also be seen on the Transparency International Ireland website on the link:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.transparency.ie/news_events/ti-ireland-open-letter-minister-alan-shatter-irish-red-cross">http://www.transparency.ie/news_events/ti-ireland-open-letter-minister-alan-shatter-irish-red-cross</a><br /><br /><em>Mr Alan Shatter T.D.<br />Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence<br />Department of Justice and Equality<br />94 St Stephen’s Green<br />Dublin 2<br /><br />9 December 2011<br /><br />Dear Minister Shatter,<br /><br />I write on the occasion of UN Anti-Corruption Day to firstly congratulate the Irish Government on the ratification of the UN Convention against Corruption this year. We are convinced that this important legal instrument will help Ireland meet its commitments to reaching and maintaining international standards of good governance and are happy to offer whatever help your department should require in reviewing its implementation.<br /><br />As you are aware, Article 33 of the Convention recognises the important role of good faith reporting in protecting the public interest.<br /><br />I should therefore also use this opportunity to draw your attention to the continued concerns of Transparency International Ireland (TI Ireland) over the failure of the Irish Red Cross Society (IRC) to commission an independent investigation into reports of weak financial management and governance at the Society made by Mr Noel Wardick, former Head of the IRC’s International Department.<br /><br />Mr Wardick was dismissed on the grounds of gross misconduct on 10 November 2010 for having publicly commented on the governance of the IRC. He is still unemployed and unable to gain employment pending his appeal for unfair dismissal to the Employment Appeals Tribunal.<br /><br />On 9 December 2010, TI Ireland wrote to the Central Council of the IRC encouraging them to commission an independent investigation into Mr Wardick’s claims. In spite of the Comptroller and Auditor General’s critical report into poor financial management of state funding at the IRC, no independent investigation has taken place into Mr Wardick’s public statements on the management of public donations and governance at the charity.<br /><br />We believe that the IRC’s refusal to commission an independent investigation into his claims will serve as a great disincentive to anyone wishing to report financial irregularities or the risk of wrongdoing in the charity sector. We would therefore ask you to press upon the IRC the importance of an independent investigation into Mr Wardick’s reports. Such a measure would not only help seek a fair resolution to all the parties in this case, but also serve the public interest.<br /><br />Yours sincerely,<br /><br />John Devitt<br />Chief Executive<br /><br /></em><strong>On a Separate Matter:<br /></strong><br />1. It appears the issue of the very poor 2011 Floods Appeal was not properly discussed at the recent Central Council meeting on 10th December 2011. For those not familiar with the situation an unwise decision was taken after the highly localised but severe flooding that took place primarily in Dublin in November to launch a nationwide appeal. The appeal involved radio and newspaper advertisements and as such significant costs would likely have been incurred. The appeal raised a gross amount of circa €30,000, extremely small for a national appeal. When the costs of the appeal advertisements are deducted the net amount would have been very much less. To put €30,000 in context in 2009 when vast areas of the country were flooded over €1 million was raised. It is highly unusual for the Irish Red Cross to launch a costly national appeal for a localised emergency that received no more than a day or two of national media coverage. Those experienced in such matters, had they been available, would have advised against a national appeal as the response permitted from raising smalls sums of money leaves many affected families disappointed and frustrated. Unfortunately for the Society many saw the appeal for what it was, namely a public relations exercise that had little real substance to it. Hopefully some valuable lessons have been learned by senior Irish Red Cross management who made the questionable call to launch a national appeal.<br /><br />2. The decision, if confirmed, to suspend the purchases of all ambulances in 2012 and to ask branches to cover costs directly related to their branches that were previously covered by head office is welcome and long overdue. In recent years the Irish Red Cross head office has incurred some sizeable and costly annual operating deficits and these have severely impacted the Society’s ability to grow and develop. Much of this was due to head office being forced to incur massive costs covering branch expenses and outlays related to purchasing new ambulances. Millions of Euros reside in bank accounts across the country which belongs to local branches yet head office is obliged to pay many branch direct costs, a clearly unsustainable policy and one that has cost the organisation many hundreds of thousands of Euros in recent years. It could easily be argued that the pressure to close the worsening head office operating deficits led to the decision in 2010 to allocate over €600,000 donated by the public and intended for Haiti into the domestic fund. By doing so the 2010 annual accounts showed a near breakeven point for the Society. The reality, however, was that a huge deficit had been incurred. Earthquake victims in Haiti paid the price on this occasion.<br /><br />3. In relation to ambulances no new purchases should take place until such time as a full scale assessment and performance audit is carried out on the 140 or so vehicles that operate under the name of the Irish Red Cross. Such a performance audit with recommendations should be carried out by independent fleet management specialists and not by internal Red Cross staff, volunteers or board members. A comprehensive fleet management and accountability system needs to be implemented. All future ambulance purchases post the suspension should only be made after a comprehensive cost/benefit analysis and should be based on a real need and an ability to efficiently and effectively address that need. Ambulances as status symbols and a means to influence, reward and control must have no future in the Irish Red Cross.<br /><br />4. It is hoped that the suspension of ambulance purchases will ensure the Irish Red Cross no longer drains valuable resources and energy away from other critically important humanitarian programs carried out domestically by the Irish Red Cross such as the ever growing and expanding Youth Program, the highly impressive Restoring Family Links Program, the HIV/AIDS Program, the Community Services Program including therapeutic hand care etc and the highly innovative and pioneering Prisons Health Care Program. It is essential these programs are properly resourced and invested in. While they are no more important than first aid and ambulances equally they are no less important.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012489272112463047.post-29759393787288927862011-12-07T05:18:00.000-08:002011-12-07T05:25:15.926-08:00Will Irish Red Cross issue formal apology to families who donated properties?For over twenty years the national media in Ireland has reported on the financial irregularities, misuse of resources and poor governance at the Irish Red Cross. During this time, and particularly in recent years, there has been a number of shocking revelations. One of the more significant of these has been the discovery that the Irish Red Cross has an extensive property portfolio that it has failed to declare in its financial statements, in breach of Standard Accounting Practice for Charities. The Irish Red Cross estimated in 2010 that the value of these properties was in the region of €7 million. While presumably the value has declined substantially over the last year or two due to the recession the omission of assets worth millions of Euro from the Society accounts is a matter of utmost public concern.<br /><br />What is important to note re the undeclared properties is that the Irish Red Cross has been fully aware for nearly twenty years that it was in blatant breach of accounting and financial protocol by purposefully and consciously omitting valuable assets from its financial statements. The current external auditors of the Irish Red Cross, BDO, have highlighted the matter every year since 2000. As a result of its actions the Irish Red Cross has wilfully misrepresented its financial accounts to the Irish Government, its members and volunteers, its staff and to the Irish public every year for nearly two decades.<br /><br />The location of these properties, the use to which they are put (if any), their state of repair, who is responsible for them, their rental income if any and who donated them has been kept a closely guarded secret by a tight inner circle of individuals. The information has been kept from the highest governing authority of the Society, the governing Central Council. Many on the closed and secretive Executive Committee have little knowledge or detail on the property portfolio. The question must therefore be asked, and answered by way of an independent investigation, why this is so.<br /><br />If any such independent investigation deems it appropriate, the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation could be asked to assist.<br /><br />The failure of governance, senior financial management and fiduciary oversight at the Irish Red Cross has allowed this situation arise and continue for years. As with the litany of other scandals at the Society no-one has been held accountable. Because the charity sector in Ireland is so poorly regulated the Irish Red Cross has been permitted to breach proper accounting procedure year on year without any person ever being prosecuted or held to account for doing so.<br /><br />For those not familiar with the correct accounting procedure for the treatment of donated assets such as properties to the Society the property must be professionally valued and the amount recorded as INCOME in the financial statements. The value of the donation must also be recorded as an ASSET on the balance sheet. For every property donated to the Irish Red Cross the Society failed to do this. As such the annual accounts massively misreported the income of the Society and under reported the value of its assets by millions and millions of Euros. <br /><br />In understanding the nature of this scandal it is very important to realise that these unrecorded and unaccounted for properties were, in the main and possibly in entirety, donated to the Irish Red Cross by members of the public following the death of the property’s owner. As Irish people will know only too well one’s home is usually by far the most valuable asset a person accrues in their lifetime. For any Irish person or family to donate a property to a charity is a hugely generous and selfless act.<br /><br />These properties were donated by the families for use by the Irish Red Cross in its pursuit, as per its mandate, of humanitarian activities and to be used in the best interests of the Society and its intended beneficiaries. The fact that the Irish Red Cross repeatedly failed to keep track of these properties, has mislaid title deeds and ownership documents, failed to record the properties in the Society’s accounts, has left a number of properties idle and vacant and has been unable to explain how or what the properties are used for is a shocking betrayal of public trust. It represents a scandalous misuse of assets worth millions of Euros.<br /><br />If even one family donated cash of say €100,000 to the Irish Red Cross and the money was not recorded in the accounts and the money was difficult to locate or track down or its use not readily identifiable it is likely the Gardai would be immediately be called in. Or at least that is what would happen in a well functioning organisation. Failure to record and keep track of extremely valuable property donations is no different than failing to record and keep track of cash donations.<br /><br />As a direct result of the Dail’s (Ireland’s Parliament) Public Accounts Committee Hearing on the 13th October 2011 into allegations of financial irregularities at the Irish Red Cross and following the inclusion of the Society (Chapter 32) in the Comptroller and Auditor General’s Annual Report the Department of Defence was forced to admit for the first time that the Irish Red Cross has at least 18 properties around Ireland that it has failed to record or properly account for. The Department did not state whether 18 was the totality of the missing properties. The Department did state that for ten of these properties it would take at least another 6-12 months “to re-construct documents of title for 10 of these”. This is a shocking indictment of incompetence and negligence at the Society.<br /><br />Readers may be interested to know that the Society was instructed to deal with the property problem as far back as 1992. To-date not one person has been held to account for this spectacular failure of governance and management. It can only be hoped that the Dail’s Public Accounts Committee follow-on Hearing into the Irish Red Cross scheduled for 2012 will shed some further light on this distasteful affair.<br /><br />In the meantime nothing short of a full scale public apology to the families of bereaved loved ones and kind benefactors who donated properties is immediately required of the Irish Red Cross.<br /><br />In addition to the public apology the Irish Red Cross needs to be seen to hold those responsible to account and it needs to state on public record that such misuse of resources and financial irregularity will never occur again. It will also be critically important that the Irish Red Cross state categorically (assuming it can do so with conviction) that no criminal offence or activities took place in relation to the properties. This apology, given the scale of the betrayal of trust, should be issued by way of large public advertisements in the main national newspapers (Irish Times, Irish Independent and Sunday Independent) as well as on TV and radio. It is also an absolute necessity that all families who donated properties are individually contacted and the situation and future plans explained in detail to them.<br /><br />On the 10th December 2011 the Central Council of the Irish Red Cross will meet. It can only be assumed that the Central Council report issued to members in advance of the meeting has an extensive and detailed report on the Dail Public Accounts Committee’s ongoing investigation into the Irish Red Cross. One also assumes that the upcoming Public Accounts Committee hearing into the Irish Red Cross in 2012 will be discussed and debated at length. It is a matter for the Central Council to decide how this matter should be handled and as such they need to direct the Secretary General and Executive Committee accordingly.<br /><br />The inclusion of a full chapter on financial mismanagement at the Irish Red Cross in the Government’s Comptroller and Auditor General’s Annual Report will also presumably be high on the agenda.<br /><br />In the event that the Central Council report omits the fact that the Irish Red Cross is under investigation by the Dail’s most powerful and influential cross party Committee it will prove beyond doubt that nothing has changed and that the Irish Red Cross remains as closed, secretive and misgoverned as ever. It will also demonstrate once again that information is purposely held from the highest deliberative authority of the Society.<br /><br />Given the staggering incompetence and deceit shown over PropertyGate this Blog calls on Central Council members to instruct the Secretary General to initiate an independent investigation into the affair. In the meantime the Central Council should reassert its ultimate authority and demand a full list of all Irish Red Cross properties, their location, their current use, their current physical state and who has day to day responsibility for each one. These assets are worth millions of Euro and the supreme governing authority of the Society (the Central Council) needs to demand and insist on full disclosure.<br /><br />Consideration should be given to the establishment of a special Property Sub-Committee of the Central Council to interact with any independent investigation. Members of this sub-committee would, as part of their terms of reference, visit and physically inspect every single Irish Red Cross property. It would be much more preferable if such a sub-committee was made up of non-Executive Committee members in order to avoid any conflict of interest. Any independent investigation would then liaise with this sub-committee, the Department of Defence and if necessary the Garda Fraud Bureau. Perhaps a representative from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) could also sit on either the CC Property Sub-Committee or the Independent Committee.<br /><br />Time will tell whether the Irish Red Cross has the moral courage to apologise to all those donor families it has failed so badly. The history and culture at the top of the Irish Red Cross tells us no such apology will ever be forthcoming. There are those who tell us things are changing at the Society and changing for the better. Perhaps these individuals would be better advised to desist from their empty propaganda and spin. Instead proof via actions and substance that the Irish Red Cross has changed would be far more desirable. Hold people to account, demand resignations, enforce them if not forthcoming and issue a public apology. Then perhaps we might believe.<br /><br /><em>True remorse is never just a regret over consequence, it is a regret over motive</em>-Mignon McLaughlinUnknownnoreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012489272112463047.post-3435986951670500122011-11-18T01:01:00.000-08:002011-11-18T01:01:00.673-08:00Call in Ireland's parliament for Irish Red Cross Vice Chairman and Treasurer to step downNot for the first time in recent months there has been another call in Ireland’s parliament, Dail Eireann, for the Irish Red Cross national Vice Chairman, Anthony (Tony) Lawlor, to step down from his post after serving a staggering 21 years in the position. In addition to calls for Mr. Lawlor to step down an additional call was made for the Irish Red Cross Treasurer, Mr. Ted Noonan, to also consider stepping down. Mr. Noonan has been a member of the Executive Committee for ten years and the Treasurer for the past three years. He has been at the helm as Treasurer throughout recent controversies at the Society.<br /><br />In suggesting both Mr. Lawlor and Mr. Noonan step down, Deputy Finian McGrath stated on the 9th November 2011<br /><br />“<em>To ask the Minister for Defence his views that the time is now appropriate for the Vice Chairman and Treasurer of the Irish Red Cross to step down from their positions in order to allow for a more reasonable turnover of personnel at leadership positions within the Irish Red Cross”.<br /></em><br />In addition Deputy McGrath stated:<br /><br />“<em>To ask the Minister for Defence if following his letter to the Chairman of the Irish Red Cross of 16th July 2011 (</em>should have read 16th May<em>) regarding corporate governance issues the Society has now considered a more comprehensive reform of its corporate governance arrangements; his views on the fact that the current vice chairman of the IRC is still serving in that position for the 21st year in a row, that the current Treasurer in that position for ten years in a row and both on the Executive Committee for 21 and 10 years respectively; his further views on whether this arrangement is in line with best practice corporate governance guidelines; and if he will make a statement on the matter</em>”<br /><br />On the issue of governance and the misgovernance at the Irish Red Cross Deputy McGrath had a third question for the Minister:<br /><br />“<em>To ask the Minister for Defence if consideration has been given to incorporating term-limits and retrospection of service for members of the Irish Red Cross executive committee in the amendments to the Irish Red Cross Order 1939; when he expects to bring forward the draft legislation on the Red Cross to Cabinet for approval; and if he will make a statement on the matter”<br /></em><br />Deputy Finian McGrath is a senior, well respected and influential politician in Ireland’s parliament. His interventions in the Irish Red Cross crisis are both important and welcome. In calling for the resignation of the Society’s Vice Chairman and its Treasurer Deputy McGrath is targeting the heart of the deep rooted problems and dysfunction that exists. Internally within the Irish Red Cross there is a great fear and reluctance to tackle the core issues that have brought humiliation, shame and disgrace on the Society. Such fear and reluctance is often typical of dysfunctional governance structures where group think and a herd mentality become accepted practice. When this becomes ingrained, as it has within the Irish Red Cross, only decisive external intervention will resolve the problems.<br /><br />Minister Alan Shatter has taken a much more robust approach to the Irish Red Cross than any of his predecessors who remained completely indifferent during their tenures in office, the consequences of which we are paying for today. Minister’s Shatter’s letter of 16th May 2011 to the Irish Red Cross Chairman, which was subsequently kept from Central Council members until revealed on this Blog, made it very clear he wished to see long serving board members depart the board of the Irish Red Cross. The Irish Red Cross rejected the Minister’s suggestion and reappointed the Vice Chairman and Treasurer. It remains to be seen if the Minister penalises the Irish Red Cross for its insistence in persisting with appalling governance practices by reducing the annual government grant to the Society in 2012.<br /><br />In typical Irish Red Cross fashion the date and agenda of the upcoming Central Council meeting are being kept a closely guarded secret. Such secrecy is reflective of the fear and paranoia of the Society’s leadership. With an extremely weak and complient Central Council the ruling elite and the controlling cabal continually get away with treating fellow board members in this dismissive manner.<br /><br />It can only be hoped that at the November/December Central Council meeting that Central Council members will find their independence and courage and finally demand the resignations and removal of the Vice Chairman and the Treasurer. It is humiliating and embarrassing for the Society that such courage is left to those external to the Society. Until such time as the Vice Chairman is held to account for his actions and the Treasurer for his inactions and both removed from all Irish Red Cross governance structures the Society will suffer indefinitely.<br /><br />No amount of tinkering at the edges of reform and producing endless written policies will compensate for the damage done by not holding people responsible for wrongdoing and negligence to account.<br /><br />The link to the Parliamentary Questions of the 9th November 2011 and the Minister’s replies is:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.kildarestreet.com/wrans/?id=2011-11-09.904.0">http://www.kildarestreet.com/wrans/?id=2011-11-09.904.0</a><br /><br />The parliamentary question put down on the awarding of an Irish Red Cross IT/Web Design contract to a UK company was not answered and appears to have been withdrawn.<br /><br /><em>All persons ought to endeavour to follow what is right, and not what is established</em>-AristotleUnknownnoreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012489272112463047.post-89204487070129876072011-11-03T01:55:00.000-07:002011-11-03T01:55:00.052-07:00Minister indicates a cut in Irish Red Cross government funding maybe on the cardsMinister for Justice, Defence and Equality, Mr. Alan Shatter, in an appearance before the Irish Parliament’s Joint Committee on Justice and Defence, gave the strongest indication yet that he is considering a cut in the government’s grant to the Irish Red Cross.<br /><br />In response to questioning by Deputy Dara Calleary, Fianna Fail, on the ongoing misgovernance and mismanagement at the Society the Minister said “<em><strong>The capacity of my Department to pay to the Irish Red Cross a sum next year the same as this year-particularly with regard to its funding of its headquarters-is an issue that must be addressed. At this moment I am unable to guarantee the funding position for this year for any particular agency outside the Department</strong></em>”.<br /><br />Given that the Irish Red Cross rejected the Minister’s written request of 16th May 2011 to address the issue of long serving board members by re-appointing the Society’s Vice Chairman for the 21st year in a row and reappointing the Treasurer to serve for his 10th year on the board it should come as no surprise that the Minister is considering cutting the grant to the Society. In speaking before the Justice and Defence Committee the Minister, in relation to board service, said the following:<br /><br />“<em>However, I have a concern that the board of the Irish Red Cross in particular-the main oversight group within the Red Cross-should have a reasonable turnover of individual members. I do not regard it as good for an organisation that an individual may fill an executive position for 15 or 20 years and that no one else has an opportunity in real terms as opposed to in theory, to fill that position. Every organisation needs to encourage its grassroots members to stand for executive positions to give them an opportunity to participate at a higher level and to be engaged in making managerial, strategic and administrative decisions”<br /></em><br />Democracy is about choice and without choice there is no democracy. For years and years the Irish Red Cross national Vice Chairman has been returned as Vice Chairman by virtue of being the sole candidate nominated. This is reflective of, in reality as opposed to in theory to quote the Minister, a highly undemocratic and unhealthy organisation.<br /><br />In relation to Minister Shatter’s letter of 16th May 2011 serious questions must be asked and answers demanded as to why this letter was not brought to the attention of Central Council members at their meeting of 28th May 2011. It is incredulous that an organisation that received a very specific written request from a senior government minister directly concerning the election and appointment of its board members would fail to bring such correspondence to the attention of those very same board members. It is even more incredulous when one considers that the Central Council meeting of the 28th May had as one of its primary agenda items the election of the 2011/12 Executive Committee, an area in which the Minister wished to see reform and change.<br /><br />Not bringing the above letter to the attention of Central Council members can only be described as outright and flagrant misgovernance of the highest order. The Minister’s letter was addressed to the Society’s Chairman, Mr. David O’ Callaghan. He must explain why it was decided and by whom that only he and a select few were made aware of the letter and why its existence and contents were kept undisclosed to all other Central Council members.<br /><br />The letter's existence only became known when the Minister himself made public reference to it in a speech in the Dail in June 2011. This Blog, in pursuing its objective to bring transparency and truth to the Irish Red Cross, then updated members on its existence and contents.<br /><br />It can only be hoped that at the upcoming Central Council meeting due to be held later this month (still no date though!) that Central Council members will demand answers and insist they be shown the respect they deserve as the supreme deliberative authority of the Society. Failure to do so will ensure they remain consigned to irrelevance where they have allowed themselves be confined for years.<br /><br />The unfortunate aspect of any government funding cut is that it will potentially jeopardise jobs at the Society’s headquarters. Already there have been redundancies during 2011 in two of the regional offices.<br /><br />As with many aspects of Irish society those most impacted by negligence, incompetence, misuse of resources and financial irregularities are those most innocent of any wrongdoing. The Irish Red Cross is no exception to this. As such it is likely staff will pay the heaviest price for the wrongs of their superiors.<br /><br />Should Irish Red Cross staff face redundancy in the New Year they can lay the blame squarely at the feet of their intransigent, obdurate and incompetent board. The Minister’s responsibility is to protect Irish tax payers money and if he in any way feels the competency, probity or ability of the board to safeguard those and other funds is under any question he has no option but to reduce or suspend the grant in its entirety. The Minister has clearly sent a warning shot across the bow of the Irish Red Cross in his comments to the Oireachtas Justice and Defence Committee. Based on historical evidence, however, it can be assumed with near certainty that the Irish Red Cross will ignore it. They have acted with impunity for decades and believe they can continue to do so.<br /><br />The Minister, in discussing the undeclared Tipperary tsunami bank account with the Committee stated “<em>I refer to the infamous situation within the Irish Red Cross where substantial funds were raised in one area and were retained in a bank account and not utilised</em>”. It would appear from the Minister’s speech that even in government ministerial circles the Irish Red Cross Tipperary tsunami undeclared bank account on which the Society’s national Vice Chairman, Anthony (Tony) Lawlor, was a signatory, is considered “infamous”.<br /><br />In his concluding remarks to the members of the Committee the Minister made clear his feelings when he said “<em>It is in the interests of the Irish Red Cross that further change occurs...”.</em> At this stage the dogs in the street know exactly what change is required. Those responsible for the financial irregularities and years of negligence and misuse of resources at the Society need to be removed. Failure to do so and the next shot from the Minister may not be across the bow but directly at it.<br /><br /><em>When you do something like this, you do increase the vulnerability for fraud, plain waste, abuse and mismanagement. We are very apprehensive about what we are seeing</em>-Richard Skinner<br /><br /><strong>On a separate matter:<br /></strong><br />The Irish Red Cross was briefly discussed again at the all party Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee in the Dail on the 20th October 2011. This followed on from the previous week (13th Oct) when financial irregularities at the Society constituted the main discussion. It is clear the Public Accounts Committee intends to continue its investigations into matters at the Irish Red Cross, something that in the public interest is to be very much welcomed.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012489272112463047.post-88585787088061439022011-10-15T11:45:00.000-07:002011-10-18T08:44:23.536-07:00Irish Red Cross to be called before parliamentary committee to face questions on use of overseas donations<strong>NOTE: The full transcript to the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee Hearing into the malpractice and maladministration at the Irish Red Cross is now available on the following link:</strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong><a href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2011/10/13/00005.asp">http://debates.oireachtas.ie/ACC/2011/10/13/00005.asp</a></strong><br /><br /><br />On 13th October 2011 further light was shed on the practices and behaviour occurring within the Irish Red Cross. The Dail’s (Ireland’s Parliament) Public Accounts Committee (PAC) questioned intensely and robustly the Head of the Department of Defence, Michael Howard, on a range of extremely serious matters related to the Society, from mis-governance, financial irregularities and misuse of public money. Despite the Irish Government (via the Department of Defence) appointing the Irish Red Cross Chairman, one third of its 42 member Central Council and granting the Society €1m annually Mr. Howard did not appear to have the answers and seemed to imply his Department had no say or role to play in its running. The PAC members, all elected members of parliament, seemed both surprised and dissatisfied with his responses.<br /><br />For much of the questioning Mr. Howard appeared distinctly uncomfortable and at times had trouble answering questions with certainty and conviction. All in all the Committee hearing left many questions unanswered and doubts further raised. Thankfully the Chair of the Committee, Mr. John Mc Guinness, a highly respected member of parliament, appeared to recognise this and agreed the Public Accounts Committee would continue to examine the matter. Mr. Mc Guinness decided the Irish Red Cross will be invited before the Committee to respond to the serious allegations made against it.<br /><br />All in all October 13th 2011 was a bad day for the Department of Defence and their officials as they struggled to assuage deep rooted concerns about the Irish Red Cross. Whatever though about the Department of Defence it was another catastrophic day for the Irish Red Cross who, along with their supporters in the Department of Defence, and like other disgraced organisations in the country such as the Catholic Church, continue to defend the indefensible.<br /><br />Until the membership of the Irish Red Cross finally decide to hold to account those responsible for the malaise the organisation they so dearly love and dedicate so much of their free time to will continue to be dragged through the mud. As always when leaders fail it is those they serve who suffer most but there comes a tipping point when leaders must be deposed or the reputational damage to all becomes irreparable.<br /><br />Following the Public Accounts Committee hearing which are held in public and monitored closely by the media, the ‘establishment’ and the public, there was wide media coverage (TV, print and internet) and commentary. Ireland’s national broadcaster, RTE, covered the proceedings on television on Thursday evening on its program Oireachtas Report. The hearing was also covered on RTE’s web service, the Irish Times breaking news web service and in two print national newspapers on Friday 14th October (The Irish Times and the Examiner).<br /><br />The links to some of the media coverage is below and the full Irish Times article is transcribed.<br /><br />Lest any readers not believe that the endless woes of the Irish Red Cross are in existence for many years the Blog has also included a link to an RTE news item in 1999 reporting on a call at the time by Irish Red Cross staff for an independent investigation into their own employer in order “to protect the integrity of the organisation”.<br /><br />The link to the PAC Press Release preceding the hearing into the Irish Red Cross and Noel Wardick’s letter to the PAC (which the PAC published and put into the public domain) are included again.<br /><br />RTE Breaking News on 13th October 2011:<br /><a href="http://www.anhourago.eu/show.aspx?l=32088154&d=504">http://www.anhourago.eu/show.aspx?l=32088154&d=504</a><br /><br />Irish Times breaking news on 13th October 2011:<br /><a href="http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2011/1013/breaking47.html">http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2011/1013/breaking47.html</a><br /><br />John Mc Guinness TD (Chairman of the PAC) Blog:<br /><a href="http://johnmcguinness.ie/public-accounts-committee-chairman-john-mcguinness-had-said-he-will-write-to-the-irish-red-cross-with-the-transcripts-of-todays-proceedings-during-which-a-number-of-issues-were-raised">http://johnmcguinness.ie/public-accounts-committee-chairman-john-mcguinness-had-said-he-will-write-to-the-irish-red-cross-with-the-transcripts-of-todays-proceedings-during-which-a-number-of-issues-were-raised</a><br /><br />Examiner newspaper, October 14th 2011:<br /><a href="http://www.examiner.ie/ireland/closure-of-army-barracks-could-save-millions-and-strengthen-peacekeeping-170656.html">http://www.examiner.ie/ireland/closure-of-army-barracks-could-save-millions-and-strengthen-peacekeeping-170656.html</a><br /><br />RTE News report in 1999 on dysfunction within Irish Red Cross and calls by staff for an independent investigation:<br /><a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/1999/1123/redcross.html">http://www.rte.ie/news/1999/1123/redcross.html</a><br /><br />Link to PAC Press Release:<br /><a href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/parliament/mediazone/pressreleases/name-2655-en.html">http://www.oireachtas.ie/parliament/mediazone/pressreleases/name-2655-en.html</a><br /><br />Link to Noel Wardick’s letter to PAC:<br /><a href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/viewdoc.asp?DocID=19158&CatID=170">http://www.oireachtas.ie/viewdoc.asp?DocID=19158&CatID=170</a><br /><br />Irish Times newspaper article on 14th October 2011:<br /><a href="http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/1014/1224305756426.html">http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/1014/1224305756426.html</a><br /><br />Article transcribed in full below:<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Red Cross to face questions on overseas aid donations<br /></span></strong><span style="font-size:85%;">TIM O'BRIEN<br /></span><br />THE IRISH Red Cross society is to be asked to respond to allegations that millions of euro, much of which was collected for overseas aid, was retained by the society in domestic accounts.<br /><br />The Dáil Committee on Public Accounts agreed yesterday to invite the Red Cross to answer questions of corporate governance, including allegations that some €160,000 collected for those affected by a tsunami in Asia remained for a number of years in a bank account in Tipperary.<br /><br />Committee chairman John McGuinness said similar complaints had been received, including one relating to another instance of €600,000 that had allegedly been retained following a collection in February 2010. He said the overall figure mentioned in this complaint was “millions”.<br /><br />Mr McGuinness proposed the invitation at the suggestion of Eoghan Murphy TD (FG) after the committee was told by Comptroller and Auditor General John Buckley the Red Cross was largely beyond his remit.<br /><br />The committee was told the Department of Defence, which provides a block grant of €1 million a year to the Irish Red Cross as well as appointing a chairman and about one-third of the Red Cross “council”, had no power to direct the organisation.<br /><br />At a discussion on financial control in the Irish Red Cross Society, secretary general of the department Michael Howard told committee members: “The Government of Ireland cannot hold the Red Cross to answer.”<br /><br />He said it was very important to understand no member of the Red Cross was accused of misappropriating money, and while “a number of deficiencies were exposed”, new corporate governance controls were being put in place.<br /><br />Among the deficiencies was the discovery in recent years of some 49 bank accounts, one of which, in Co Tipperary, contained some €160,000, he acknowledged.<br /><br />Labour TD Michael McCarthy repeatedly asked Mr Howard when his department had been made aware of the complaints, and what action it had taken. Mr Howard said he could not be certain regarding the complaints, but he had been assured by the society that when people made a donation to it, normal International Red Cross best practice was followed.<br /><br />This would involve the society making a specific appeal for particular disaster relief, and all donations received for that purpose would serve that purpose. He said in times of specific appeals it was frequently the case that normal donations to the Irish Red Cross, outside the disaster relief appeal, would be received. This latter collection was considered available to the society domestically.<br /><br />Simon Harris (FG) asked what was the point of having a Government appointing a chairman and about one-third of the council of the Red Cross if they were not available to report on uses of taxpayers’ money.<br />ENDSUnknownnoreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012489272112463047.post-69011476830664769802011-10-12T07:57:00.000-07:002011-10-12T08:24:01.975-07:00Parliament's Public Accounts Committee to examine financial control in the Irish Red Cross SocietyThe Blog is pleased to report that the malpractice, maladministration and financial irregularities at the Irish Red Cross are to be discussed by the Dail's (Irish Parliament) Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on 13th October 2011. This is further evidence of the low standards applying at the organisation. In particular the PAC appears concerned about the undeclared Tipperary Tsunami bank account and the manner in which the Society did or did not deal with it and those involved.<br /><br /><div></div><br /><div>The Dail's Public Accounts Committee (PAC), made up of cross party politicians, is tasked to ensure all government funding and grants are spent effectively and as intended. The PAC review of the Irish Red Cross follows hot on the heels of the review by the Government's financial watchdog, the Comptroller and Auditor General, whereby a full chapter was given to the Irish Red Cross and its problems.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>The disgraced Society continues to refuse to hold those responsible to account and as a result concerns at every level of Irish society, public, media and political, have increased over the last two years. Until those individuals who have brought the Irish Red Cross to this sorry state are held accountable and removed from their posts the damage and loss of reputation will continue unabated.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>The Home Page of the Oireachtas (Ireland's Parliament) website announces the PAC's intention to examine financial irregularities at the Irish Red Cross. The link is below as is the full article. In addition to the announcement the PAC has also decided to publish and put into the public domain correspondence it has received from former Irish Red Cross Head of International, Noel Wardick. The link to this correspondence is also below.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Link to PAC announcement to examine Irish Red Cross:</div><br /><div></div><br /><div><a href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/parliament/mediazone/pressreleases/name-2655-en.html">http://www.oireachtas.ie/parliament/mediazone/pressreleases/name-2655-en.html</a></div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Link to Noel Wardick's letter:</div><br /><div></div><br /><div><a href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/viewdoc.asp?DocID=19158&CatID=170">http://www.oireachtas.ie/viewdoc.asp?DocID=19158&CatID=170</a></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div><strong>Public Accounts Committee to examine financial control in the Irish Red Cross Society</strong></div><br /><div><strong><br /></div></strong><br /><div>The Secretary General of the Department of Defence; Orla Barry Murphy, Accounting Officer in the Office of the Commissioners of Charitable Donations and Bequests; and officials from the Department of Justice will appear before the Public Accounts Committee tomorrow, Thursday, 13th October 2011</div><br /><div><br />A key issue which will be examined at the meeting is the financial control in the Irish Red Cross Society.</div><br /><div><br />Chairman of the Committee, John McGuinness, TD said: “Concerns regarding the capacity of the Society to manage its administration and finance were raised in the past, particularly in relation to a sum of €162,960 that was donated to the 2005 Asian Tsunami Appeal which was left in a local bank account in Tipperary from 2005 to 2008. While no evidence of misappropriation of funds was found and the money was eventually transferred to the appeal fund in September 2008, the case highlighted problems with the governance and financial structures of the organisation.</div><br /><div><br />The Committee will want in particular to see what guidelines, structures and procedures have been put in place to prevent such a situation happening again. We will also be interested in seeing what rules on the handling and tracking of donations have been implemented and if staff and members are receiving adequate training.”</div><br /><div><br />The Committee will meet tomorrow, 13th October at 10am in Committee Room 1, Leinster House 2000.</div><br /><div><br />Committee proceedings can be followed live at:<a href="http://www.oireachtas.ie/ViewDoc.asp?fn=/documents/livewebcast/Web-Live.htm&CatID=83&m=o">http://www.oireachtas.ie/ViewDoc.asp?fn=/documents/livewebcast/Web-Live.htm&CatID=83&m=o</a></div><br /><div>Ends</div><br /><div><br /></div><br /><div>For further information please contact:</div><br /><div><br />Ciaran Brennan,Houses of the Oireachtas,Communications Unit,Leinster House,Dublin 2<br />P: +3531 618 3903M: 086-0496518F: +3531 618 4551<br /></div><br /><div>Committee of Public Accounts Membership comprises the following TDs (MPs):</div><br /><div><br />John McGuinness (FF, Chairman), Kieran O’Donnell (FG, Chairman), Paul J Connaughton FG, John Deasy FG, Paschal Donohoe FG, Anne Ferris Lab, Simon Harris FG, Michael Mc Carthy Lab, Mary Lou Mc Donald SF, Michael Mc Grath FF, Eoghan Murphy FG, Derek Nolan Lab, Shane Ross Ind.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012489272112463047.post-84816692722554383372011-10-10T01:23:00.000-07:002011-10-10T01:23:00.826-07:00A question for Sinn Fein's leading presidential hopeful regarding Irish Red CrossIn the event presidential hopeful Mr. Martin Mc Guinness decides to enlighten us in detail on his IRA past perhaps he could clarify the exact role played by the Irish Red Cross in the establishment of the Provisional IRA.<br /><br />At the time of the Arms Trial involving Charles Haughey and co, the late Leslie Bean De Barra, wife of guerrilla leader Tom Barry, and someone with known IRA sympathies, was director of the Irish Red Cross. Justin O'Brien, in his highly authoritative work, the Arms Trial, says the money from the Department of Finance, originally transferred to the Irish Red Cross Society to protect refugees from the North, was in fact used <strong>"<em>to finance the emergence of the Provisional IRA</em>".</strong> For readers not familiar, Charles Haughey, a former Irish Prime Minister, was charged with smuggling guns and funding to the Provisional IRA in the early days of his political career (1970s). It led to one of the most controversial and bitter trials in Irish history.<br /><br />If Mr. Mc Guinness becomes President he automatically becomes President of the Irish Red Cross. Now there's irony for you. President of Ireland and President of the very organisation that played a role in the establishment of the IRA, which as everyone knows was an illegal terrorist organisation. Martin Mc Guinness was a leading member of the IRA for decades.<br /><br /><em>Each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible</em>-Victor Frankl (1905-1997)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012489272112463047.post-74838164519225251732011-09-23T09:33:00.000-07:002011-09-26T07:54:40.530-07:00Irish Government's financial watchdog confirms Irish Red Cross had 49 undisclosed bank accounts<strong>Note: On 25th September 2011 the Sunday Independent, Ireland's largest selling newspaper, wrote an article on the Irish Red Cross and the Comptroller and Auditor General's report into malpractice and maladministration at the Society. The newspaper article can be found on the following link:</strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><a href="http://www.independent.ie/national-news/campag-report-into-affairs-at-red-cross-inaccurate-2886889.html">http://www.independent.ie/national-news/campag-report-into-affairs-at-red-cross-inaccurate-2886889.html</a><br /><br /><br />On 19th September 2011 the Irish Government’s financial watchdog, the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) issued its 2010 annual report. The Report examines government waste, misuse of resources, tax evasion and social welfare fraud. The Report was covered extensively by the national media, TV and print, on the day of its publication.<br /><br />In what must be regarded as one of the lowest points in the 72 year history of the Irish Red Cross, the C&AG’s Report designates a full chapter to the malpractice, maladministration and misgovernance within the Society.<br /><br />Inclusion as chapter 32 of the C&AG report will be forever remembered as another very dark and sad episode in the lifetime of the Irish Red Cross. The fact that those responsible for the malpractice and maladministration have not yet been held to account and continue to serve on the board of the Society only worsens an already disgraceful situation. The Irish Red Cross has now found itself in a national document that reports on waste, abuse of funds, misuse of resources, evasion and fraud.<br /><br />In recent years Ireland has been brought to its knees by cronyism, abuse of power, incompetence and corruption to the tune of millions and billions of Euros. The Comptroller and Auditor General reports comprehensively on these matters in his annual publication. In his latest report he felt it prudent and appropriate to designate a full chapter to the Irish Red Cross. Surely this must speak volumes about the rot at the heart of the Society and the failed leadership that has brought us to this dark and shameful place.<br /><br />For those readers not familiar with the C&AG Office the Comptroller and Auditor General is an independent Constitutional Officer, appointed by the President of Ireland on the nomination of the Dáil, Ireland’s national parliament.<br /><br />The C&AG's relationship with the Dáil is essentially a reporting one. All reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General are presented to Dáil Éireann and are examined on behalf of the Dáil by a committee known as the Committee of Public Accounts (PAC).<br /><br />While there are close working relations between the PAC and the C&AG, the two are quite independent both in law and in practice. The C&AG or in his absence, a senior member of staff, attends the meetings of the PAC as a permanent witness.<br /><br />The C&AG will consider all circumstances involving an abuse of public funds, brought to his attention. Whether a particular matter warrants investigation or examination as part of the normal financial audit will depend on the particular circumstances of the case, its materiality and the evidence available to substantiate the circumstances surrounding the alleged abuse of public funds.<br /><br />Some interesting points from the C&AG Report:<br /><br />Section 32.2 states “<em>Under the Act, the Government has the power to make provisions for a range of matters relating to the organisation, operation and governance of the Society, including its finances and accounts</em>”.<br /><br />This confirms what the Blog has said on many occasions, that the Government has the right under law to intervene directly in the Irish Red Cross. Given the extent of the crisis it should do so immediately. Successive Ministers for Defence have incorrectly stated on public record that they cannot interfere in the Society’s affairs. The C&AG has now publicly confirmed that it can.<br /><br />Section 32.7 states “<em>Concerns regarding the capacity of the Society to manage its administration and finance were raised in letters from the Society’s external auditors in respect of the 2005 and 2006 audits. The auditors questioned the Society’s ability to prepare accounts for the organisation as a whole, due to the unreliability of its systems and the lack of financial information in respect of some of its branches. On foot of the 2005 and 2006 audits, the Society appointed two separate financial consultants to review the issues raised. They recommended changes be made to the Finance Department at its headquarters. The external auditors management letter of 2008 noted significant improvements in the finance and administration of the Finance Department but again commented negatively on the Society’s ability to prepare comprehensive financial statements”<br /></em><br />Given such weaknesses it is not surprising that individuals including at least one senior board member felt confident in not reporting the existence of certain bank accounts or not submitting branch returns to head office. The weaker head office finance remained the easier for certain branches and their officers to act unilaterally and with impunity. A weak head office finance department was no accident.<br /><br />Section 32.8 in quoting from the internal investigation into the undeclared Tipperary tsunami bank account states “<em>The headquarters was not aware of the existence of the bank account until a trawl of all Bank of Ireland accounts in the name of the Society was undertaken in April 2008, at its request. This trawl led to the uncovering of 49 undisclosed accounts holding amounts that totaled €214,000, of which the Tipperary account (then standing at €162,960, including bank interest) was the most significant</em>”.<br /><br />As is public knowledge following extensive media coverage at the time the current national Vice Chairman was a signatory on the Tipperary account above.<br /><br />What is most striking from the report is that the trawl of bank accounts was restricted to only those held by Bank of Ireland. Despite this limitation 49 undisclosed bank accounts were discovered with nearly a quarter of a million Euro sitting in them. The question remains how many undisclosed bank accounts would have been discovered had all banks been included, AIB, National Irish Bank, Ulster Bank etc?<br /><br />If this trawl has not been extended to all other banks in the meantime then the question must be asked why not? If the trawl of one banking institution reveals €214,000 of undisclosed funds then there is no reason to believe a trawl of the other major banks would not reveal a similar amount of money hidden, undeclared and undisclosed. How many hundreds of thousands of Euros belonging to the Irish Red Cross and donated for humanitarian purposes is lying hidden in undisclosed bank accounts around Ireland? How many people are involved in concealing these bank accounts?<br /><br />Another question that must be asked is have those individuals involved in keeping undisclosed and undeclared bank accounts been asked to sign statements that there is no additional hidden bank accounts in other banking institutions that they are aware of under their/Irish Red Cross name?<br /><br />In light of the fact that 49 undisclosed bank accounts were discovered in one banking institution alone has the Irish Red Cross ever genuinely or seriously considered asking the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation to assist them in trawling all banking institutions in the country and to advise if any criminal activity has taken place?<br /><br />The inclusion of the Irish Red Cross in the Comptroller and Auditor General’s annual report would in any normal well functioning and properly governed organisation result in the immediate removal of those individuals responsible for the malpractice and maladministration. This will unlikely happen in the Irish Red Cross. Enough said.<br /><br /><strong><em>To know what is right and not to do it is the worst cowardice</em></strong>-ConfuciusUnknownnoreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012489272112463047.post-28611752038375450952011-09-13T02:59:00.000-07:002011-09-13T03:12:30.560-07:00Irish Red Cross spends €140,000 on legal fees in 12 monthsThe Irish Red Cross 2010 audited accounts make for some interesting reading. The Blog has already covered the undeclared multi-million Euro Irish Red Cross property portfolio, which according to the external auditors, BDO, the Irish Red Cross is in breach of ‘Standard Accounting Practice for Charities’. BDO has explicitly stated this in the annual accounts every year for at least the last three years. The Irish Red Cross has, to date, failed to address the matter. It remains an ongoing scandal that properties donated to the Irish Red Cross by members of the public not only remain unaccounted for in its books but no-one appears to know what the properties are being used for and if they are generating income where the income is going and who is benefiting from it. Given the recent history of the Irish Red Cross and its undeclared bank account in Tipperary with tens of thousands of Euros discovered in it the property situation must be seen as hugely suspicious and deserving of an immediate independent investigation. Depending on the findings and recommendations of such an independent investigation a decision on whether or not to involve the Garda Fraud Investigation Bureau can be made.<br /><br />But the Blog digresses! The purpose of today’s article is to report on the enormous waste of Irish Red Cross resources in 2010 on paying exorbitant legal fees. €140,000 to be precise! This is an extraordinary amount of money for a small charitable organisation to waste on legal bills. It is even more scandalous when one considers the reason for the expenditure, namely to silence the truth and protect a ruling cabal of leaders who have dominated the Irish Red Cross for years.<br /><br />While the leaders remain in place the truth has been revealed and all attempts by the Irish Red Cross to silence dissent, conceal the facts and intimidate reformists have failed spectacularly. This failure cost the Society €140,000 in a 12 month period. Central to this cost was Irish Red Cross’s calamitous decision to sue Google International. The arrogance and folly of Irish Red Cross leaders is hard to fathom but it was nevertheless exposed for the world to see and gasp at. In taking on Google they learned a painful and costly lesson. Having failed in their endeavours Irish Red Cross leaders walked away with their tails between their legs while their solicitors smiled from ear to ear as they handed over their invoices.<br /><br />The Irish Red Cross continues to incur legal costs in 2011. Unfortunately details on this will only be revealed in mid 2012 when the 2011 audited accounts will be published. As with the 2010 legal bills it will be too late by then to do anything about this waste. Even more disconcerting will be the legal bill the Irish Red Cross incurs in 2012 as case/s related to incidents that took place in 2010 finally come before the courts.<br /><br />Sadly it will be 2013 before we know the true cost of all these legal battles. What we do know, however, is that the Irish Red Cross has a very long history of incurring enormous legal bills and 2010, 2011, 2012 will follow a long pattern of unacceptably high expenditure on the services of solicitors and barristers. This is, of course, entirely symptomatic of a dysfunctional and a woefully governed organisation. Scratch the surface and the common denominator behind these continuous legal battles over a twenty year period is a limitless obsession with power and an endless desire to remain king of the castle. In the meantime hundreds and hundreds of thousands of Euros of Irish Red Cross money has been squandered. For any solicitor firm the Irish Red Cross is a very lucrative and valued client.<br /><br />What remains remarkable regarding the scandalous waste of donor money on legal fees in 2010 (€140,000) is that no-one has been held accountable. The Irish Red Cross Treasurer in 2010 was re-appointed in 2011 despite overseeing and presumably authorising this outrageous waste of money. If he didn’t authorise it specifically, through his silence and inaction he certainly permitted it to continue. His failure to prevent it is inexcusable. The Acting Chairman at the time is also complicit in this waste. He too did nothing to stop it and as head of the organisation at the time it must be assumed he sanctioned it. Combined with his central role in the Tipperary tsunami bank scandal surely his position is completely untenable.<br /><br />Ultimately, however, the Executive Committee of the Irish Red Cross must take collective responsibility. Given the financial and governance scandals that have brought the Irish Red Cross to its knees in recent years the legal bill scandal is only one of a number that would justify the collective resignation of the entire Executive Committee.<br /><br />In addition to an independent investigation into the hidden Tipperary tsunami bank account, the undeclared property portfolio, the Pakistan blankets, the beef consignment issue etc etc an independent examination of Irish Red Cross’s legal cases and expenses over the last 20 years would serve to expose the rot at the top of the organisation.<br /><br />What must never be forgotten in all of this is that for every Euro spent on legal fees pursuing the personal agendas of board members there is one less Euro to spend on community services, first aid training, defibrillators, mountain and lake rescue, youth activities and overseas aid.<br /><br />From which budget does Irish Red Cross take money to pay for its never ending legal costs? Does it come from general funds donated by the Irish public? Does it come from the Government’s grant in aid (tax payer money)? Does it come from Overseas Appeals such as Haiti, Pakistan? Does it come from its Reserves? Does it come from its Commercial activities such as the Shell Corrib account? The Audited accounts do not answer any of these critical questions as they only show the total legal expense incurred but not from which income source the money is taken from. The audited accounts are seriously flawed in this regard. Members of the public, corporate donors and the Government, who so generously donate their money to the Irish Red Cross for humanitarian activities, need to know if their donations are being misused on legal fees.<br /><br />What can be determined with certainty is that €140,000 spent on humanitarian activity in say Somalia, instead of on legal bills, would save the lives of hundreds if not thousands of men, women and children. Instead the Irish Red Cross is content to line the pockets of Ireland’s legal profession.<br /><br /><strong><em>The waste of money cures itself, for soon there is no more to waste</em>-M.W Harrison<br /></strong>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012489272112463047.post-78996824656829057232011-08-25T07:16:00.000-07:002011-08-25T07:24:00.978-07:00Could certain Irish Red Cross board members face criminal prosecution under the new Criminal Justice Act 2011?
<br />The Irish Times has reported that legislation aimed at strengthening Garda (Irish police) powers when investigating white-collar crime and legally protecting those who turn whistleblower came into operation earlier this month.
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<br />According to the newspaper “a key part of the white collar crime provisions in the Criminal Justice Act 2011 creates a new offence of failing to report business and corporate-related crimes, which is punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to five years”.
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<br />Of particular note in relation to the Irish Red Cross is the section in the Irish Times article which states <strong>“An employer who penalises a whistleblower in any way can face up to two years in prison and the whistleblower can sue for damages”.
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<br />Only time will tell whether organisations such as the Irish Red Cross who have fired whistleblowers will have criminal prosecutions taken against them and if so whether individuals from those organisations will serve custodial sentences.
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<br />At the very least the legislation is to be welcomed and any protection afforded to whistleblowers who report wrongdoing in good faith, whether in the past or in the future, is a critically important step forward. For far too long employers have systematically and wilfully threatened, harassed and punished organisational whistleblowers. They have done so with complete impunity. That day is now over.
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<br />The first criminal prosecutions and jail sentences against individuals who have fired or targeted whistleblowers will send shock waves across Ireland but shock waves is exactly what is required. No organisation, whether private, public or charity is now above the law. All that remains to be seen over the coming months and years is which individuals and organisations are prosecuted under the new legislation and for how long those found guilty will serve in prison.
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<br />No doubt there are plenty of individuals out there who are having sleepless nights since Minister Alan Shatter brought this pioneering piece of legislation before the Irish Parliament and saw it successfully passed into law. The possible threat of criminal prosecution and a jail sentence will definitely cause insomnia even for the most brazen and shameless.
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<br />Minister Shatter said the Act was an important step in ensuring the white collar criminal would be vigorously pursued. “We must put an end to any hint of a culture that suggests that the white-collar criminal can act with impunity,” he said.
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<br />Under the Act, a person who has information that could help prevent a white collar crime or help the investigation of an offence committed is guilty of an offence unless they provide the information to the Garda. The information must be supplied “as soon as practicable”. Failure to supply the information, and to do so quickly, carries a jail term of up to five years on conviction.
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<br />Minister Alan Shatter, as well as having responsibility for passing the Criminal Justice Act 2011 also has statutory oversight of the Irish Red Cross.
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com51tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012489272112463047.post-31065050515276472552011-08-02T01:44:00.000-07:002011-08-02T01:44:00.245-07:00Spin, Inaccuracies, Half Truths, Watered Down Apologies and still no-one held accountable at Irish Red CrossThe Irish Red Cross has recently attempted to address a range of issues which it has been hauled over the coals on during the past couple of years. The Society has claimed the issues are ‘nuanced and complex’. As is often the case with the Irish Red Cross nothing could be further from the truth. The issues are straightforward and simple. Dysfunction, lies, deceit, financial irregularities, misuse of resources, failure to declare assets, bullying, harassment and appalling corporate governance are defining characteristics of the Irish Red Cross. That is the simple truth and a non-nuanced fact.<br /><br />The recent spin and PR stunt carried out by the Irish Red Cross (see its Q&A on its website and material posted to donors) demonstrates clearly that the upper echelons of the Society continue in their efforts to deceive the general public. They openly admit they have spent months preparing this latest response, which not surprisingly when it comes to the Irish Red Cross, falls significantly short of the truth.<br /><br />Instead of spending months drafting responses that do not hold up to the facts and instead of senior staff wasting their time trying to find excuses for unacceptable behaviour, time which is funded by tax payer money, the Irish Red Cross would be far better served by expelling those individuals who everyone now knows are responsible for the deceit, lies and mis-use of public money. It is nothing short of their expulsion that will allow the Irish Red Cross regain any semblance of credibility in the eyes of the public and its peer organisations.<br /><br />The failure by the Irish Red Cross leadership to hold to account the personalities involved in bringing shame and opprobrium on the Society is a dereliction of their duties. Making up excuses, however, that are factually incorrect is not only a dereliction of their duties but behaviour that can only be described as complicit.<br /><br />Narcissistic was a phrase used by the Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, to describe the Catholic Church in his extraordinary and brilliant speech condemning the failure of the Church’s hierarchy to hold people to account, their half hearted investigations and failure to report matters to the Gardai. Some of the language used by the Taoiseach, including the words narcissistic, elitist and arrogant, could be used to describe senior personalities within the Irish Red Cross. The Catholic Church, the Financial Regulators, Politicians have all been disgraced for their failure to hold people to account. Add to this list the Irish Red Cross. Accountability is required. Spin is despised. Always it will be rejected by the public who can spot it a mile off.<br /><br />The Blog would like to take the opportunity to give the truth and facts in relation to the issues raised. What is most striking about the recent Question and Answer spin published by the Irish Red Cross is the complete absence of any commentary on the scandal of the Society’s €7 million undeclared property portfolio, something the external auditors have repeatedly stated is in violation of Standard Accounting Procedures for Charities.<br /><br />The fact that the Irish Red Cross has failed to declare €7 million as income and assets on its balance sheet is a scandal in the extreme. These properties were donated by members of the public and not declaring them on the Society’s books is exactly equivalent to failing to declare or record, say, a €100,000 cash donation.<br /><br />The Blog has noticed a number of comments on the previous article calling for the Garda Fraud Bureau to be called in to investigate the property issue. Perhaps this is now necessary. The Chairman of the Irish Red Cross, David O’ Callaghan, should give serious consideration to requesting the services of the Gardai (Irish police force) in once and for all getting to the bottom of this matter. Following recent legislation passed in Dail Eireann (Irish Parliament) it is now a criminal offence not to report white collar crime if one has suspicions it has taken place. This should be borne in mind by senior staff and board members at the Irish Red Cross.<br /><br />Below the Blog outlines the Questions and Answers as articulated and written by the Irish Red Cross. In addition the Blog outlines the ‘Blog Response’ which, in contrast to the Irish Red Cross, contains the facts and omits the spin.<br /><br /><strong>As follows:<br /></strong><br />Dear Supporter,<br />Thank you for taking the time to read visit the site and read this page. The Irish Red Cross was in the national media in Ireland in 2010 for all the wrong reasons. In addition to the criticisms levelled during an RTE Primetime television feature, a number of extra criticisms have been made in the on-line fora. This page will attempt to answer these criticisms. We would value your comments, feedback and questions. If there isn’t anything we have not covered, please let us know and we will add it to what you are about to read.<br /><br /><strong>Blog:</strong> Continuous criticism has been leveled at the Irish Red Cross not only during 2010 but also during 2011 in the national media, on-line and in the Irish Parliament where the Minister for Justice and Defence on the 29th June 2011 reprimanded the Irish Red Cross on a number of fronts. It is also important to note that the Irish Red Cross has been regularly criticised in the national media over the last 20 years for its dysfunction and highly questionable financial practices.<br /><a name="eztoc20688_0_1"></a><a name="Back_to_top"></a><a name="Tipperary_Bank_Account_-_Asian_Tsunami_B"></a><br /><strong>Tipperary Bank Account/Asian Tsunami Bank Account<br /></strong><br />Q1: Did the Irish Red Cross leave €162,960 that was donated to the 2005 Asian Tsunami Appeal in a bank account from 2005 to 2008?<br />Yes. It is a matter of huge regret to the Society that this is true. Our governance and financial structures were not to the highest standards that we demand of ourselves.<br /><br /><strong>Blog:</strong> This had nothing to do with financial structures. The bank account was kept undeclared for over 3 years by a number of individuals one of whom is the national Vice Chairman. The money was only returned to head office when the individuals involved were caught following a secret internal audit. The Blog welcomes the admission that ‘governance was not to the highest standard’ but once again calls on the Irish Red Cross to hold the individual/s responsible to account. The Irish Red Cross must only have people as members and on its governing board with ‘the highest standards’. Those lacking the ‘highest standards’ and whose actions severely damage the Society must be removed. The primary person responsible for the scandal of the Tipperary bank account was re-appointed Vice Chairman of the Society in May 2011 for the 21st year in a row. This is in flagrant breach of good corporate governance practice. As such Irish Red Cross governance still does not meet ‘the highest standards’.<br /><br /><br />Q2: How much was raised in total for the 2005 Asia Tsunami Appeal?<br />€32,160,256<br /><br /><strong>Blog:</strong> The total sum raised is irrelevant. The fact is that a senior board member was involved in keeping an undeclared bank account with €163,000 in it for three years until he was caught. No action has been taken against him. The Irish Red Cross made every attempt at the time to sweep the matter under the carpet but because of the Blog, the media and a number of politicians the Irish Red Cross was forced kicking and screaming to at least appear to look into the matter.<br /><br />How long this money would have remained in this undeclared bank account had the individuals not being caught and how, if ever, it would have been spent can only be a matter of conjecture.<br /><br />Q3: What happened?<br />A local branch of the Irish Red Cross in Tipperary collected the money for the Tsunami Appeal. The money rested in a special appeal account locally and wasn’t transferred to the overall Tsunami Appeal Fund. The monies were eventually transferred to the appeal fund on 23rd September 2008.<br /><br /><strong>Blog:</strong> Not transferring the money to Irish Red Cross head office was a flagrant violation of Irish Red Cross financial procedures. It was also a flagrant violation of Irish Red Cross policy not to declare the monies actual existence in financial reports sent to Dublin. So not only was the money not sent to head office, head office was NEVER informed of the monies existence. Every branch that raises money for an international disaster appeal is OBLIGATED to immediately forward every penny of that money to headquarters. They have NO entitlement to retain that money and have absolutely NO say in how it is spent. This is standard operating procedure and it was outrageously abused by officers of the Tipperary branch including the national Vice Chairman who was a signatory on the account. The money was only transferred to Dublin when the individuals were caught with the undeclared bank account and they were then forced to declare the money and immediately return it, over three years after the people of Tipperary had donated it.<br /><br />It is absolutely incredulous that the Irish Red Cross would use a phrase “rested in a special account” given that the phrase ‘resting in my account’ has entered the Irish lexicon as a euphemism for corruption. Is the Irish Red Cross trying to send a subliminal message?<br /><br />Q4: Was any money taken?<br />No. No monies went missing in any way.<br /><br /><strong>Blog:</strong> There were two separate withdrawals on the undeclared account during the time it was kept secret. Both amounts of money were subsequently returned. No proper investigation into why this money was withdrawn has taken place and it has not been determined whether the money was returned after the secret audit discovered the account’s existence. An immediate independent investigation is required to determine who withdrew this money from an account NO-ONE has an entitlement to withdraw money from, why the money was withdrawn and whether or not the money was only returned after the undeclared account was discovered.<br /><br />Q5: What happened to the money then?<br />It was added to the appeal funds as soon as the oversight came to light.<br /><br /><strong>Blog:</strong> In July 2010 the Vice Chairman stated on record in an interview with the Tipperary Nationalist newspaper that the Tsunami money from the Tipperary bank account had been spent on tsunami projects. This was absolutely false as the money had not been spent. Following intense media questioning on this matter the Irish Red Cross eventually admitted that the money had not been spent on tsunmai projects but that eventually it would be. No-one was held to account for giving factually incorrect information to the media.<br /><br />Q6: Did any of the disaster affected communities in South East Asia lose out in any way?<br />No. Money raised in the Asian Tsunami Appeal is being spent over an 8 year period that will be completed in 2012. Once the €162,000 came to light in 2008, it was added to this planned spend. All donor money did and will go to the affected communities within the planned time frame.<br /><br /><strong>Blog:</strong> This is nonsense from the Irish Red Cross. The Tipperary branch had no entitlement whatsoever to retain monies collected for victims of an overseas disaster for years and years. It is not their decision how long to keep it or when to release it. They failed in their fiduciary duties and as such should be removed from office. The general public who donated the money and the victims in Asia were all betrayed by the decision of certain people to keep €163,000 in donations secret from the organisation and not return the money until they were caught. As the International Department had no knowledge whatsoever of the existence of this money it was never budgeted into plans and operations in Asia. Plans had to be altered and amended when the money was eventually recovered, three years late, from the individuals involved. If the secret audit had not caught the individuals it is highly possible the money would never have been forwarded to Dublin and as such would have been lost forever to the victims of the tsunami and would never have been used by Irish Red Cross in its tsunami response operations.<br /><br />Q7: But surely if they didn’t receive the money until 2008 they must have lost out?<br />With large-scale emergencies, pressing needs in the short term are often for things such as clean drinking water, shelter and sanitation. The unprecedented generosity of the Irish public and the scale of the monies raised meant the Irish Red Cross was in a strong position to respond to both immediate and long-term needs.In the case of the longer term needs, it can take some time for them to become clear. In the case of the Asian Tsunami, it became evident the affected communities would have long-term assistance and infrastructure needs.The decision was taken to not just respond in the short term, but to also spend appeal funds over a number of years. The monies raised have made a tremendous positive impact in the lives of people across South East Asia and continue to do so. If you’d like to see some examples, follow this link.<br /><br /><strong>Blog:</strong> This is more Irish Red Cross spin and a pathetic attempt to distract from the real issue. The Tipperary branch has no entitlement or say whatsoever in how international disaster monies are spent and over what time frame. Once money is collected they are obligated to declare every penny of that money in their accounts and as soon as possible forward every penny of that money to Dublin. The professional staff employed at the International Department then determine how and where the money is spent and over what timeframe. These decisions are based on the total amount of money raised and this can only be determined when all branches honestly, openly and accurately declare and submit all monies donated. The Tipperary branch failed to declare the existence of this money as well as failing to forward it to Dublin. No-one in the Irish Red Cross headquarters knew the money existed until the individuals who had it were caught and were forced to return it. Whether the Irish Red Cross response in Asia is 1 year, 2 years or 8 years is entirely irrelevant to the discussion and the seriousness of what happened. A very real and serious wrong was committed. Despite knowing the individuals responsible for this wrong no-one has been held to account. The fact that the money was rescued and recovered is a positive but those involved in the wrong did not themselves willingly hand over the money as was their responsibility. They were caught and then and only then did they hand it over.<br /><br />Q8: So what went wrong with regard to the money left in the Tipperary bank account?<br />With hindsight we now know it would have been wiser to employ more staff, especially finance staff, to help with managing and controlling such a large appeal fund.<br />Our financial systems were outdated when the appeal was launched and high turnover at a senior level in the organisation in the years at the time compounded this.<br />Much more robust systems were installed in 2007 and now all local branch accounts are consolidated into the overall accounts of the organisation, allowing for better governance of all Irish Red Cross donations.<br />Specifically, the money could and should have been transferred sooner. There are various reasons it didn’t happen, and there was no attempt to hide or retain the monies in any way, but nonetheless it has been a painful and timely lesson to all of us at the Irish Red Cross Society.<br /><br /><strong>Blog:</strong> This response is an utter disgrace from the Irish Red Cross. The message from this answer is that the culture of lies, spin and deceit is alive and well within the Irish Red Cross. There is one reason and one reason only for the Tipperary bank account scandal. Certain individuals in the Tipperary branch including the tsunami account signatory, national Vice Chairman, Tony Lawlor, failed to declare the existence of €163,000 collected from the general public and kept the money in an undeclared account for over three years until they were caught and forced to return the money to Irish Red Cross HQ. Their failure to declare the monies existence and forward it to HQ had ABSOLUELY NOTHING to do with lack of staff or weak financial procedures. In relation to this matter the procedures at the time were crystal clear and known to those involved. The Vice Chairman, as a senior board member, was one of those responsible for ensuring such procedures were adhered to by all branches nationally and ensuring such procedures were enforced. The Tipperary branch officers, including the national Vice Chairman, totally and completely violated and ignored EXISTING IRC procedure. They kept the existence of this money secret from head office. No amount of staff in Dublin would have altered their decision not to inform HQ about the monies existence. The procedures were clear across the country: all income to branches must be honestly and openly declared in written branch accounts and all overseas disaster monies collected must be declared and forwarded immediately to HQ. Once again the Irish Red Cross is attempting to muddy the waters and blame ‘administrative errors and weaknesses’ when nothing could be further from the truth. The scandal happened because of the absolute and total failure of certain individuals to meet their fiduciary responsibilities and to behave in an appropriate, transparent and professional manner. The attempt to blame the failure of these individuals on a lack of staff is an outrage. It is this disgusting attempt to apportion blame to innocent staff for the resignable failures of a senior board member that confirms nothing has changed within the Society. The continued use of subterfuge and spin to explain unacceptable behavior and action will only serve to consign the Irish Red Cross to many more years of dysfunction, distrust and disrepute.<br /><br />Even the Irish Red Cross’s highly compromised and delayed internal report on the Tipperary scandal declared the actions of the Tipperary officers including the Vice Chairman as a ‘threat to organisational governance’. Those individuals trying to deflect blame onto staff or a lack of staff are being entirely disingenuous and they should seriously consider resigning. Before doing so they should issue an immediate apology to all existing and former staff.<br /><a name="Financial_Procedures"></a><br /><strong>Financial Procedures:<br /></strong>Q9: What have you done to rectify things?<br />We have introduced strict financial guidelines, structures and rules to prevent anything like this ever recurring. Branches must now submit all their accounts to head office to be consolidated into an overall set of accounts. There are strict rules on the handling and tracking of donations. Staff and members are receiving training on the importance of adhering to the fundraising code of conduct, and the Irish Red Cross will be one of the early adopters of this voluntary code for charities.<br />As well as new financial structures, new governance structures, policies and procedures have been put in place. There is a new board, a democratic process for members of the Society to be elected to this board, and term limits for them once they get there. Board members and senior management must adhere to a new code of conduct. If you’d like to see more, do come and have a look. We are proud that all our new governance structures are in line with the highest standards internationally in the Red Cross Red Crescent movement.<br />There is a new Senior Management Team in place at the Society, including a new Secretary General (CEO). Every one of us is working hard to ensure the trust of our supporters is earned and deserved every day.<br /><br /><strong>Blog:</strong> While it is correct to address major weaknesses in the financial management capacity of the Irish Red Cross which up to the end of 2010 still did not have the internal knowledge or head quarters capacity to properly oversee a multi-million Euro operation it is important to re-iterate that the Tipperary scandal occurred because EXISTING financial procedures were violated by a number of individuals. There is therefore no point in having new financial procedures if a precedent has been set that one can violate procedures without consequence. Those responsible for the disgraceful behavior which led to the Tipperary account scandal have never been held to account. In fact one of them was rewarded with a reappointment as Vice Chairman for the 21st year in a row. The message is clear: fail in your fiduciary responsibilities, keep monies and bank accounts undeclared, only hand over monies when caught but dont worry you will never be held to account in the Irish Red Cross. In fact you will be rewarded with a senior board position.<br /><br />Because of this culture no amount of ‘new’ procedures will alter anything. The Irish Red Cross has demonstrated clearly that it is afraid and completely reluctant to punish damaging and serious financial violations, abuse and irregularity.<br /><br />It is factually incorrect to say Irish Red Cross has a new board. Please! Give readers some credit. The Irish Red Cross reappointed its Vice Chairman for the 21st year in a row, its Treasurer has served on the Executive for 10 years. Take a look at the Irish Red Cross board. It’s the same faces that have so poorly served the Society for years and years. The Blog agrees a new board is required but unfortunately the incumbents are anything but ‘new’. Why does Irish Red Cross lie and deceive like this? How unbelievably insecure an organisation the Society is.<br /><br />The new constitution is designed to keep long serving members in power for many more years. How can Irish Red Cross honestly say their new constitution will reform the Society when they reappointed the Vice Chairman for the 21st year in a row in outrageous breach of all known good governance practice? It reappointed its Treasurer, the man who failed to sack the Vice Chairman over the Tipperary bank account and as such is entirely complicit by his failure to act. If there is a new Senior Management Team in place (a very debatable fact given two managers that remain had votes of no confidence placed in them by the Cork Area) then why has nothing changed and why did these supposed new senior managers sign off on this Q&A deceit and spin? Covering up for the outrageous actions of your bosses does not do much for the public’s confidence that reform is under way.<br /><br />Q10: Was there an investigation?<br />Yes. The Society did an internal investigation.<br /><br /><strong>Blog:</strong> The Irish Red Cross once again is being highly economical with the truth. When the undeclared account in Tipperary with €163,000 was discovered in mid 2008 the Society panicked and swept the matter under the carpet. Why? Because central to the scandal was the national Vice Chairman, the most powerful figure in the Society, and no-one was prepared to demand he be investigated. At least one member of senior management at the time formally wrote to his supervisors requesting an independent investigation and calling for the Vice Chairman’s resignation. No investigation took place, no-one was held accountable for this massive failure of governance and financial probity. The Honorary Secretary at the time Jennifer Bulbulia demanded an investigation and in the end resigned because of the Society’s failure to properly address the issue. She wrote a scathing letter to the Minister of Defence calling for action and fundamental reform of the Society. Nothing was done but such outrageous abuse of donor funding could not be buried forever. In 2010 the general public, national media and the wider political sphere became aware of it and other controversies at the Irish Red Cross. The Irish Red Cross denied any wrongdoing, denied the need for an investigation but in late 2010 ultimately caved in to public and political pressure and announced an independent investigation. The utterly cringe worthy and humiliating performance by Irish Red Cross on RTE’s Prime Time TV investigation on 26th August 2010 was probably the tipping point as Irish Red Cross’s credibility and reputation was now in tatters.<br /><br />In a move that will forever damage the Irish Red Cross four weeks after announcing to the media that an independent investigation would be carried out it was cancelled and the new Chairman announced that an internal investigation would instead take place. Any hope that a new Chairman would address the ills of the Society were instantly dashed and those implicated in the Tipperary scandal no doubt breathed a big sigh of relief.<br /><br />The internal investigation was carried out by persons with a real conflict of interest and as such its findings were highly compromised and watered down. Unsurprisingly no individual/s were blamed or named as is to be expected in weak compromised internal investigations. Nevertheless and in fairness to the report there was sufficient commentary to warrant the immediate expulsion of the national Vice Chairman and to request the resignation of the national Treasurer. Sadly for the reputation and future of the Irish Red Cross the new Chairman did not demonstrate the requisite courage and resolve to do so. The consequences of this will remain with the Society for many years to come.<br /><br />Q11: There have been calls for an external/independent investigation. What is your response to this?<br />It’s a fair point and perhaps we could have gone further and done something like this. There seems little gain in doing so now. Apart from anything else, it would be very expensive. We have instead focused our efforts in reforming and overhauling our governance structures and internal financial controls (outlined above).<br /><br /><strong>Blog:</strong> From the perspective of openness, honesty, transparency and accountability EVERYTHING is to be gained from an independent external investigation. An independent investigation, in the view of the Blog, would report damning and scandalous findings which would absolutely force the expulsion of a number of individuals. As such the Irish Red Cross will never willingly agree to an independent investigation. Ireland’s two governing parties, Fine Gael and Labour have repeatedly called for an independent investigation into the affairs of the Irish Red Cross as has Transparency International, the global organisation that fights corruption and abuse of power. At the very least the two mysterious cash withdrawals from the undeclared Tipperary bank account and the undeclared €7 million in property assets demand an immediate external investigation, probably with the assistance of the Garda Fraud Bureau. The excuse that an independent investigation would cost too much is so disingenuous that it beggars belief. This coming from the people who spent €140,000 in 2010 on legal fees trying to shut down this Blog and who continue to incur legal costs trying to shut down this Blog.<br /><br />Q12: Are the people in charge at the time still there?<br />There is a new Secretary General, who runs the day to day affairs of the Society, since that time. There is also a new Senior Management Team<br /><br /><strong>Blog:</strong> The recruitment of a new Secretary General in February 2011 was a very welcome development. This should have happened in early 2010 after the previous Secretary General resigned. Unfortunately it did not happen until early 2011 and the consequences of twelve months without a permanent Secretary General were dire for the organisation, consequences it will be dealing with for years to come. The board members responsible for what happened and decisions taken by them in 2010 need to be severely reprimanded and removed from their positions.<br /><br />This Blog continues to wish the new Secretary General every success in his role but it must admit to being deeply disappointed with the content and spin inherent in the Q&A publicity campaign. The only way forward is to hold those responsible to account otherwise history WILL repeat itself. These individuals dominate the Society and their damaging power and presence must be eliminated. Defending and/or minimising their actions reinforces their power bases not weakens thems.<br /><br />There is only two new external staff members on the Senior Management team so it is inaccurate to give the impression that new blood has been brought in. At least one of the senior managers in place had a vote of no confidence in him by one of the largest Irish Red Cross Areas in the country, namely the Cork Area. Hardly encouraging. A junior manager had a similar vote of no confidence from the same Area. Regardless of a new senior management team or not the problems of the Irish Red Cross cannot be resolved by senior managers. History in the Irish Red Cross clearly demonstrates that any senior manager who attempts to address the wrongdoing at the Society will eventually be fired or forced to leave. The Chairman and the Secretary General must take responsibility for reform and holding those guilty to account. Courage is required not acquiescence.<br /><br />The Vice Chairman of the Irish Red Cross was not forced to resign when he was found to have kept €163,000 in an undeclared account for over three years until he was caught. The Treasurer was not forced to resign for failing to investigate this matter and trying to sweep it under the carpet. Two years later public, political and media pressure forced him to back down and hold an investigation. Noel Wardick, former Head of International, was fired for telling the truth and exposing all the wrongdoing at the Irish Red Cross.<br /><br />Until the Vice Chairman and Treasurer are removed from office the Irish Red Cross will have demonstrated it is incapable of true reform. The Irish Red Cross remains an organisation that simply cannot be trusted and one that has an ingrained inability to tell the truth.<br /><br />Q13: I’ve heard that a Board member was a signatory to the account. Is this true?<br />Yes. All of our Board members are elected by their local branches and districts. The particular Board member involved was at the time an officer (Secretary) of the local branch committee and therefore a signatory to the account.<br /><br /><strong>Blog:</strong> This is correct and as has been widely reported in the national media the person in question is the national Vice Chairman. He was recently re-appointed to the Vice Chair position for the 21st year in a row. Not only did he and his colleagues keep €163,000 in an undeclared bank account and fail to inform HQ of the monies existence he and others failed to submit any branch financial returns at all to HQ over a number of years leading an internal investigation to declare what happened “a threat to organisational governance”. In any well functioning organisation he would have been dismissed from office.<br /><br />Q14: Surely he or she should resign?<br />It is important to say that there is no evidence of any wrong-doing by this Board member. No monies went missing and none were retained. The individual involved was an officer of the branch and their name was on the account in this capacity.This clearly does not look good, but something not looking good isn’t in itself a reason someone should resign.<br /><br /><strong>Blog:</strong> Of course he should resign. There is clear evidence of wrong-doing. It is wrong to keep a bank account undeclared and to keep money, you are not entitled to keep, in an undeclared bank account and to do so until you are caught. There have been calls in Dail Eireann, the national parliament, for Mr. Lawlor’s resignation but like his Tipperary compatriot Michael Lowry the Irish Red Cross Vice Chairman is impervious to such calls. The Irish Red Cross admits “this clearly does not look good”. Well that’s because IT IS NOT GOOD. Keeping €163,000 in an undeclared bank account and not forwarding donations from the public until you are caught with it in an undeclared bank account IS NOT GOOD! Giving the public incorrect information via the media that the money has been properly spent when it has not been spent is NOT GOOD.<br /><br />The disgraceful actions of the national Vice Chairman are well known by now. His failure to resign is a testament to his character. What is more damaging though is the failure of the Irish Red Cross to expel him from office. The Irish Red Cross has demonstrated incredible organisational deficiency, cowardice and weakness by leaving the decision to resign or not with the Vice Chairman himself. The reality is it should not be a matter for the Vice Chairman to decide on. He has disgraced the Society and behaved in an unacceptable manner and as such he should be removed from office, not by himself but by his peers. Failure to do so implies complicity and condones his actions.<br /><br />By refusing to take action against individuals who behave so unacceptably the Irish Red Cross is sending a loud and clear message to its donors equivalent to the following: ‘As far as we are concerned it is ok for board members of the Irish Red Cross to keep bank accounts secret and to keep in those bank accounts large sums of money donated by the Irish public. These board members do not have to declare these monies or these bank accounts until such time as they are caught by our financial systems and random secret audits. When they are caught engaging in such unacceptable behavior these board members will then be re-appointed to the board and any staff member who questions this behavior will be sacked, sued, targeted, bullied and harassed’.<br /><br /><strong>Board Members:<br /></strong>Q15: But some board members have been there for a very long time have they not?<br />Yes, some members have served for a long time and have been re-elected on many occasions.<br />While acknowledging the debt of gratitude that the Society owes to the generosity of these individuals over many years, we also recognise that best practice in governance is to allow for a greater degree of change and renewal in the membership and officers of governing bodies.<br />That is why the new constitution of the Society, introduced as a part of the governance reforms at the Society will place terms limits on officers, plus mandatory step-down periods.<br />This new constitution has been approved by the International Federation of the Red Cross Red Crescent Societies in Geneva and we are confident it represents best practice in the voluntary sector and in the Red Cross Red Crescent movement.<br /><br /><strong>Blog:</strong> What utter nonsense and spin from the Irish Red Cross. Under the new constitution the Irish Red Cross in May 2011 reappointed its Vice Chairman to the post for the 21st year in a row. This is a blatant and flagrant violation of all good corporate governance. The continued presence of the Vice Chairman on the Irish Red Cross board is causing dismay and ridicule for the Society both nationally and globally. Under the new constitution the same Vice Chairman can serve in this position for at least another six years bringing his service to 27 years in a row. This is farcical and is making the Irish Red Cross a laughing stock. Despite this supposed new constitution the Treasurer was reappointed and he has sat on the Board for the last 10 years. He can also serve under the new constitution for at least another 6 years bringing his total service to 16 years. If no-one runs against the Vice Chairman and Treasurer in 6 years time then the 3 year mandatory break can be waived under the new constitution and they will both be able to serve for another 3 years bringing their service to 30 years and 19 years respectively. How can anyone take the Society’s claims of reform even remotely serious?<br /><br />Minister Shatter recently stated in parliament that he believes no person should serve more than 6 years in any one position and no more than 12 years in combined leadership roles. He requested Irish Red Cross immediately address the problem of its long serving board members. What did Irish Red Cross do? They reappointed their long serving board members thereby completely rejecting the formal written request from the Minister. The same Minister who gives nearly €1 million annually to the Irish Red Cross. If this figure is substantially reduced in 2012 members can thank the intransigence and egos of the Vice Chairman and Treasurer and the cowardice of their colleagues on the board who fear challenging them.<br /><br />Q16: How are board members elected?<br />The voluntary members, apx. 4500, of the Red Cross elect a Central Council to govern the affairs of the Society. The Central Council elect an executive committee to govern the day-to-day affairs of the Society.<br />The Chairman is currently appointed by the government, and there a small number of government nominations on the Executive committee. Under the new constitution the link with the government will be broken and this practice will no longer continue.<br /><br /><strong>Blog:</strong> It is good to see Irish Red Cross is no longer using the inflated and highly inaccurate figure of 6,000 for membership numbers. One third of the Central Council’s 42 members are appointed by the government for three year terms. This equates to 14 members. The link with the government will NOT be entirely broken under the new constitution. The Chairman will no longer be appointed by the government and the number of government appointees will be greatly reduced (10% of Central Council) to around 4. As such the link will not be severed completely.<br /><br /><strong>Haiti<br /></strong>Q17: I’ve heard you kept €600,000 back that was raised for Haiti. Is this true?<br />No – this just isn’t true. All money given to Haiti went towards helping those affected by the devastating earthquake there. Our audited accounts show this clearly if you’d like to enquire more.<br /><br /><strong>Blog:</strong> The Irish Red Cross position on this is absolutely FALSE. At least €600,000 of publicly donated money that was clearly intended for Haiti was allocated to the Irish Red Cross domestic fund and was never used for Haiti. This action was morally reprehensible. The audited accounts simply state where money was recorded by the Society so it is impossible to tell from the audited accounts that of the monies recorded to the domestic account that €600,000 of this should have been allocated to the Haiti fund.<br /><br />Q18: Is there any evidence?<br />The accusation has been made by two individuals in the blogosphere. No evidence has been brought forward to date. But nonetheless, both individuals are people we respect so we investigated the figures very carefully and the result was still the same: all money given to Haiti was spent on the implementation, monitoring and support of programmes helping those affected by the devastating earthquake.<br />We tasked our auditors to investigate the matter as well and they found the accusation to be groundless.So where does the accusation come from?<br />It is speculation on our part, but it may be a simple misunderstanding. During large-scale emergency appeals, all overseas aid agencies experience a rise in what are called ‘unattributable’ donations. These are donations marked ‘for the Red Cross’ or ‘towards your good work’ for example. Crucially, they do not specify what the money is to be spent on. It may be that those making the accusation simply have their figures wrong, and are talking about unattributable donations rather than donations for Haiti.<br />It is also important to note that unattributable income comes in on a daily basis to the Irish Red Cross, even outside appeal times. It fluctuates depending on the time of year and the economy and a host of factors. Thousands of supporters are very happy to support the general work of the Society, helping us respond to disasters at home and overseas.<br /><br /><strong>Blog:</strong> While the Blog acknowledges that the Irish Red Cross states it has respect for the individuals making the claims (despite firing one of them!) regarding the €600,000 Haiti funds it would much rather it stopped its spin and deceit on this matter and returned the €600,000 to the Haiti fund which Irish Red Cross wrongfully and intentionally allocated to the domestic fund.<br /><br />There is absolutely no mis-understanding on this matter. During any overseas appeal hundreds of thousands of Euros flow into the Society for that appeal. Thousands of Irish people when contributing to a specific overseas disaster often send in cash and/or cheques marked ‘Pay Irish Red Cross’ and do not specify the money is for, say, Somalia. This is because they are not specifically told by IRC to do so and also simply because they respond to the vast media coverage for Somalia and then send in a cheque on the basis that Irish RC is collecting for Somalia (based on TV and media adverts) and that their money will go to the Somali fund. The Irish RC has always consciously and knowingly taken advantage of Irish people in this regard. Given the avalanche of income that comes in during an overseas disaster the Irish RC knows full well that the vast vast majority of this income is intended by the public to go to the particular disaster that has befallen some country and for which IRC is advertising widely. However IRC has always taken advantage of the fact that many people simply dont know they are to write ‘Somalia’ on their cheque or with cash to include a note ‘For Somalia’. When people fail to do this IRC knowingly then allocate the money to their domestic fund and not one penny of this money gets used overseas, ever. Their attitude has always been ‘tough luck you should have marked your cheque ‘Somalia’ or whatever, but since you didnt we are going to put it in our domestic fund instead’. IRC does this even though it knows the person in all likelihood wished the money to go towards the overseas appeal. Technically and legally the Irish RC is not breaking the law as the member of the public did not specify where the money is to go but during a massive overseas disaster and an extensive IRC appeal for that disaster and the sudden surge of income that comes in as a result of that disaster and the resultant advertising it can be taken for granted that the vast amount of this money is for the overseas crisis.<br /><br />By refusing to take into account that thousands of Irish people are unaware they should specify the appeal with their donation the Irish RC knowingly takes advantage of people’s innocence and takes their money and puts it in their domestic fund. As such hundreds of thousands of Euros that are generated in direct response to an overseas disaster never go overseas but rather go into the domestic fund to pay for domestic expenses such as salaries and legal fees. While not illegal the actions of the Irish Red Cross in knowingly taking advantage of the general public’s trust and naivety is morally reprehensible. This matter has been highly contentious for many years between staff and the board and the senior managers who knowingly implement this disgraceful policy. For decades the Irish Red Cross has used overseas disasters to fill the coffers of their domestic accounts. Millions of Euros have been allocated to the domestic fund when in reality they should have gone to overseas appeals. This is exactly what happened in 2010 in direct response to the Haiti earthquake. The Secretary General at the time was formally requested to stop this practice during the Haiti response as were those senior staff implementing it, all to no avail. As such over €600,000 that was clearly intended for Haiti was allocated to the IRC domestic fund and not one penny of it was spent in Haiti or anywhere else overseas.<br /><br />Q19. But why don’t you allocate all donations that come in during an emergency appeal to the particular appeal e.g. Haiti or Japan?<br />There is no doubt a link between a rise in unattributable donations like this, and large emergency appeals. The Heads of Fundraising for all the major Emergency response agencies in Ireland will tell you that they experienced a rise in unattributable income in 2010 due to the Haiti earthquake and Pakistan floods.<br />In the eighties, it was common practice to attribute these donations to the emergency appeal that was current, under a kind of ‘it’s probably meant for that appeal’ kind of logic. It suited Fundraising managers as it made their appeal figures look good, and it suited programme staff as it gave them more money to spend.<br /><br /><strong>Blog:</strong> What utter rubbish from Irish Red Cross. In the Irish Red Cross the fundraising staff have absolutely no say or authority as to where monies are allocated. Such decisions are made by the board and the Secretary General. It is because of this and other dysfunction that the Irish Red Cross has had 6 Heads of Fundraising in 6 years. In the Irish Red Cross the only fund the board has any interest in or concern for is the General Fund, which in IRC is the domestic fund. All pressure on fundraisers has historically been related to this fund and the IRC policy of taking unattributable donations that surged during overseas appeals and putting them into the General Fund/Domestic was done solely to inflate this fund.<br /><br />It is tragic to see, probably for the first time, a Head of Fundraising, actually defend this morally reprehensible policy. This Blog is not aware that any previous Head of Fundraising attempted to defend such abuse of the wishes of members of the public.<br /><br />The reason the Irish Red Cross in the past (for a short while only unfortunately) allocated all or most unattributable income raised during an appeal to that appeal was that it recognised this was the most honest and best way to ensure the wishes of the public were honored. The IRC board did not like this though as it meant the coffers of the domestic fund did not receive money during an overseas appeal. As such the policy was abandoned in IRC for one reason and one reason only, to take advantage of those people who did not specify the overseas appeal and then allocate their money to the domestic account.<br /><br />Q20: So why is this not done any more?<br />Unfortunately this practice was deeply problematic and is no longer best practice, let alone legal. For a start, it means we are deciding where the donor wants the money to go, which is immoral. Best practice and most honest is not to infer anything, but to attribute the money strictly to where the donor says it should go.<br />Often what was decided by the charity was deeply subjective in those circumstances – it basically came down to the fundraising manager or the programme officer who shouted the loudest to decide.<br />Often there are more than one appeal running at any given moment. In early 2011 for example, both the New Zealand Earthquake and the Japan Tsunami Appeal were running concurrently. How would one decide that a cheque marked only for the Irish Red Cross should go to Japan or New Zealand? In reality it would come down to a very subjective decision possible based upon likes and dislikes.<br /><br /><strong>Blog:</strong> The spin and deceit by the Irish Red Cross on this matter is actually stunning in its audacity. The practice of allocating unattributable income raised during the height of an appeal to that appeal is absolutely NOT illegal. The legal position is that the IRC can allocate unattributable income anywhere the IRC decides. It is why the Blog has said the actions of the IRC, while morally reprehensible, are not illegal. If according to the IRC it is not legal to allocate unattributable income to an appeal when raised during that appeal then how can the IRC policy of allocating that same money to the domestic fund be legal?<br /><br />The IRC says it cant decide for the donor where the money is to go but that is EXACTLY what the IRC is doing. It is deciding that unattributable money raised during an overseas appeal will not go to that appeal, will not go to any other overseas appeal but will go to fund domestic expenses here in Ireland. The point made by the IRC above is utterly contradictory. If IRC is not allowed decide where to spend unattributable donations because it ‘cant decide where the donor wants the money to go’ then that implies it can never spend the money because to do so implies making a decision on how and where to spend it.<br /><br />The example IRC gives re the New Zealand and Japan appeals is ridiculous. Of course its subjective! Thats the nature of unattributable donations but the Society must do its best to within reason honour the wishes of the public. In the highly unusual circumstances where two or more appeals are running simultaneously for overseas disasters then a decision can easily be made to divide up unattributable allocations on a certain percentage basis based on any number of relevant criteria (size of disaster, ability of country to respond, number of fatalities, injuries etc). What the Irish Red Cross does now is the least acceptable and is morally wrong. It doesnt allocate one penny to any of the appeals but decides to allocate 100% of the money to its domestic fund where none of it ever gets spent on any overseas disaster. This is plain and simple wrong.<br /><br />As for once again trying to blame fundraising staff for morally wrong policies when they not only had nothing to do with them but very often objected to them is another outrage by the Society. Readers should ask why an organisation would have 6 Heads of Fundraising in 6 years and then they might get some understanding of the extreme difficulties IRC fundraisers faced in trying to do their jobs properly and honestly.<br /><br />It is a hugely disappointing development that the current Head of Fundraising is breaking with his predecessors in trying to defend such unacceptable behavior.<br /><br />Q21: So who decides where the money is allocated?<br />The donor decides. Plain and simple. To say that what the donor really meant was something else from what they said in their letter is just plain wrong. We will never do it.<br /><br /><strong>Blog:</strong> This is plain and simple a LIE. Hundreds of thousands of Euros, in fact probably millions of Euros over the last 20 years have been allocated to the Irish Red Cross domestic fund, NOT because the donor necessarily wished it to be or specified it but because the Irish Red Cross DECIDED that was where they would allocate it. The Irish Red Cross policy over much of the last 20 years has been very simple. If the donor does not specify where the money is to go, even if the money is raised during a massive overseas disaster appeal, the money goes to the DOMESTIC Fund (known as the General Fund). That is a FACT. The Irish Red Cross decided where to allocate the money. Do not deny it because in court or in any independent investigation you will be shown to have lied.<br /><br /><strong>Bullying Accusations:<br /></strong>Q22: There have been accusations of bullying of staff? Is this true?<br />There were accusations of bullying of staff around a decade ago. Most current staff of the Irish Red Cross have been with the Society for two years or less.<br /><br /><strong>Blog:</strong> The unashamed willingness of Irish Red Cross representatives to lie, spin and deceive is indeed truly sad.<br /><br />Lets be clear. Bullying, harassment and intimidation of staff continued right up to and including all of 2010. In 2007 there was a major bullying case and a senior manager was ultimately found guilty of bullying a junior member of staff. Later in the 2007 a second bullying claim was brought against another senior manager. Both senior managers left the Society a couple of years ago. In 2007 bullying and harassment allegations were formally made in writing against certain members of the Executive Committee of the Irish Red Cross. At least one of those remains in place on the board. In 2007 19 staff members formally wrote to the then Chairman and Central Council complaining about numerous issues including the culture of bullying, harassment and intimidation. Little or nothing was done. Certain board members have attempted to bully and harass certain staff and members with threats of legal action. These threats have been vigorously countered and like with most bullies when challenged they crumbled and ran away. At least one of these threats of legal action by a board member against a staff member occurred in 2010. Throughout 2010 there was a continual atmosphere of fear, intimidation and paranoia within the Irish Red Cross especially at head office in Merrion Square. This can only be described as institutional and organisational bullying.<br /><br />The Irish Red Cross admits most of its current staff are with the Society two years or less. This in itself is an admission of huge failure. A failure of human resource policy (of which there is none), a failure of staff training and development, a failure of staff retention, and a failure of staff investment. The admission of such a high turnover is reflective of a completely dysfunctional organisation that has had 6 Heads of Fundraising since 2005 and 4 Secretary Generals since 2007. The turnover at every other level has been very sizeable and far too many to mention. No-one has been held accountable. The same board members remain in charge.<br /><br />The fact that the Irish Red Cross would make such an admission re staff turnover without actually realising that is what it is doing demonstrates how stunningly inept the Society remains at the top.<br /><br />This has been a very long Blog but it is very important that the record be set straight, that the truth be recorded and spin and deceit challenged.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012489272112463047.post-31654861604295365232011-07-21T01:01:00.000-07:002011-07-23T05:55:30.175-07:00Irish Government attempts to distance itself from appointment of ex-senior banker to head up Irish Red Cross-according to Sunday Independent<strong>Note: On a separate matter there were more Parliamentary Questions raised in Dail Eireann (Ireland's parliament) about the Irish Red Cross on 20th July 2011. Suggestions were made that the Irish Red Cross be called before the Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality to answer questions on all the problems it continues to have. In addition Minister Shatter stated that substantial reform of the Irish Red Cross is still required. The link to the questions is:</strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><a href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/dail/2011/07/20/00200.asp">http://debates.oireachtas.ie/dail/2011/07/20/00200.asp</a><br /><br /><strong>Also Boards.ie is back commenting on the scandals at Irish Red Cross</strong><br /><br /><br /><p><strong><a href="http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=73425481">http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=73425481</a></strong></p><br /><br /><p><strong>In addition readers may be interested in the article in the Irish Independent (23rd July) once again referring to Irish Red Cross undeclared Tipperary Bank Account, the Irish Red Cross apology and admissions of "huge regret" and the role played by the Vice Chairman, Tony Lawlor. The Irish Red Cross statement refers to Lawlor's role as "clearly does not look good". Mr Lawlor's position is now surely untenable. He will unlikley resign voluntarily so it is now the responsibility of the Irish Red Cross Chairman to demand his resignation. The Secretary General has done as much as he can by allowing such statements be issued in public. Taking such steps in the Irish Red Cross amount to risking one's job. Mr. Forde is clearly prodding and poking Mr. Lawlor in his attempt to get to the truth, to force him to resign and clean up the Society. Mr. David O' Callaghan, Chairman, must now follow suit and step up to the plate. Nothing short of the Vice Chairman's resignation will be acceptable in order to allow the Irish Red Cross begin the long road to recovery. The Treasurer's resignation would also be a welcome development. It is to be noted, however, that the attempts by the Irish Red Cross to deflect some of the blame for the Vice Chairman's behaviour onto staff, staff turnover and a lack of staff is nothing short of scurrilous.</strong></p><br /><p><a href="http://www.independent.ie/national-news/red-cross-says-sorry-for-euro163000-tsunami-cash-error-2829467.html">http://www.independent.ie/national-news/red-cross-says-sorry-for-euro163000-tsunami-cash-error-2829467.html</a></p><br /><br /><p><strong></strong></p><br /><br />In an article (17th July 2011) in the Sunday Independent, Ireland’s biggest selling newspaper, it is claimed that the Irish Red Cross did not inform the Government in advance that it planned to appointed an ex-AIB senior banker to head up the Society. The newspaper appears to question the appropriateness of this given the fact that most of the Secretary General’s salary is in fact paid for by the Government.<br /><br />It is clear from the article and information released under a Freedom of Information request that the Government wished to keep its distance from the appointment. What is not clear is whether the reason was because the Government felt it necessary to respect the independence of the Red Cross or whether the Government was and remains concerned about public reaction to tax payers money being used to pay the salary of a senior ex-AIB manager.<br /><br />While not referred to in the newspaper article questions also need to be asked about the exact role of the Public Service Appointments Commission (Government Recruitment Agency) in the selection of the Secretary General. At the time (late 2010) the Irish Red Cross Chairperson inferred that the services of the Public Appointments Service Commission were being used to ensure independence and also to reduce costs. There remain, however, serious questions marks over the exact role of this supposed independent third party and why a government recruitment agency was used instead of an independent private recruitment firm, as has been normal practice for the Irish Red Cross in the past. The exact role of the Public Service Appointments Commission needs to be clarified and made public. Perhaps a Freedom of Information request will help shed light on this.<br /><br />Regardless of any issues surrounding the appointment of the Secretary General or the payment of his salary from tax payer funds the fundamental issues that require drastic action at the Irish Red Cross relate primarily to senior members of the Irish Red Cross board. The removal of these individuals must be prioritised. Other issues, while important, should not distract from this objective.<br /><br />It’s important to note that it has been a standard practice of the Irish Red Cross ruling elite to turn attention onto serving Secretary Generals when the heat is on and to lay the blame for the Society’s ills at their doorstep. Apart from one recent case the departures of so many Secretary Generals has been damaging for the Society. The current Secretary General must ensure that issues concerning his previous career are not used by certain board members to divert attention away from themselves. The problem is if he attempts in any way to interfere with their power and control they will immediately attack his Achilles heel. For the sake of the Irish Red Cross it can only be hoped Mr. Forde is prepared to go on the offensive against certain board members and remain on the offensive regardless of possible internal dirty tricks against him. If he shows even the slightest sign of fear or hesitation he will follow his predecessors out the front door of 16 Merrion Square never to return.<br /><br />The full Sunday Independent article is available on the link below and is also printed in its entirety:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.independent.ie/national-news/plum-job-at-red-cross-for-banker-2823674.html" target="_blank">http://www.independent.ie/national-news/plum-job-at-red-cross-for-banker-2823674.html</a><br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong>Plum job at Red Cross for banker</strong></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Despite paying grants, Minister kept in dark on ex-AIB man’s €95k-a-year role<br /></strong></span><br />By HARRY LEECH<br /><br />Sunday July 17 2011<br /><br />A spokesperson for the Department of Defence has confirmed that the Irish Red Cross did not consult with it or the then Minister for Defence over the appointment of former AIB Ireland managing director Donal Forde as general secretary of the Irish Red Cross at a salary of €95,000-a-year, most of which is paid from a government grant.<br /><br />Based on documents released to the Sunday Independent under the Freedom of Information Act, the first that the then Minister for Defence Eamon O Cuiv heard about the appointment was a press release from the society.<br /><br />A spokesperson for the Department said: "Whilst this Department was notified, there was no requirement for any further correspondence with this Department or with the Minister."<br /><br />A number of revelations regarding poor governance and weak financial controls in the Irish Red Cross have emerged in recent years.<br /><br />The society was recently criticised in the Dail by the current Minister for Justice and Defence, Alan Shatter.<br /><br />The Minister said that as a beneficiary of State funding, the society needed to "ensure its corporate governance standards meet what would be regarded as acceptable for an organisation of its calibre".<br /><br />The Irish Red Cross has acknowledged that there have been problems in the past.<br />However, a spokesperson said: "A programme of substantial change and reform is under way within the society."<br /><br />The Department has been at pains to distance itself from the issues within the Irish Red Cross in recent years and the appointment of Mr Forde seems to be no different.<br /><br />In an email to staff, the Department's principal officer Cathal Duffy said: "Mr Forde is a former managing director of AIB (Ireland). This appointment and the process that led to it are entirely a matter for the Irish Red Cross Society and is not something that we would want to comment on."<br /><br />Mr Forde was managing director of AIB in the Republic of Ireland between 2002 and 2008 and was later appointed as director of group strategy, a position he held until he stepped down in May 2009.<br /><br />According to the bank, his salary was €1.3m in 2007 but this subsequently fell to €776,000 in 2008.<br /><br />He has also held voluntary roles on the boards of the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland and the University of Limerick Foundation, which is a registered charity.<br />ENDSUnknownnoreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012489272112463047.post-66943142640773080282011-07-11T08:07:00.000-07:002011-07-11T08:12:23.404-07:00Minister Shatter criticises Irish Red Cross board ahead of review-Sunday TimesThe Sunday Times carried another detailed report (3rd July 2011) on the endless problems and difficulties at the Irish Red Cross. According to the respected publication Alan Shatter, Minister for Justice and Defence, has written to the Irish Red Cross stating that he opposes long board service and has requested the Irish Red Cross to expeditiously address this problem.<br /><br />Unfortunately to date Irish Red Cross has snubbed the Minister’s request. The Minister’s reaction to this snub will only become evident overtime but the Minister’s statement that direct and indirect support from the Government to the Irish Red Cross for 2012 is under review should be a matter of deep concern to all IRC volunteers and staff. It is clear that long serving board members are rapidly becoming a funding and financial liability for the Irish Red Cross. Until they are permanently removed from their positions Irish Red Cross’s credibility and reputation remains in grave danger.<br /><br />The Minister clearly stated in Dail Eireann on 29th June 2011 that he is opposed to any board member serving in the same position for more than 6 years and in a leadership role for a cumulative period of more than 12 years. Mr. Tony Lawlor has served as Vice Chairman of the Irish Red Cross for 21 years. This is 350% longer or 15 years more than the Minister considers best practice. The Irish Red Cross is inflicting untold damage on itself by choosing to ignore best corporate governance practice and specifially ignoring the wishes of the Minister whose Department’s funding is central to the Society’s survival.<br /><br />Both the Society’s Vice Chairman, Tony Lawlor and its Treasurer, Ted Noonan, are specifically referred to by the Sunday Times just as they were in the Dail debate on 29th June.<br /><br />The full Sunday Times (3rd July 2011) article is transcribed below:<br /><br /><strong>Sunday Times<br /><br />By: Harry Leech<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">Shatter criticises Red Cross board ahead of Review<br /></span></strong><br />Alan Shatter, the justice minister, has criticised the Irish Red Cross (IRC) for allowing members to serve too long on its executive board, and for failing to publish annual reports for 2009 and 2010.<br /><br />The minister told the Dail on Wednesday that he has written to the organisation’s secretary-general seeking clarification of a number of issues. He said “a comprehensive review” of all legislation relating to the IRC is under way. Shatter was responding to questions by Labour’s Aodhán O Riodáin, who called for the charity’s grant to be withheld pending an independent investigation.<br /><br />Last year The Sunday Times revealed that €162,000 donated to the society for Asian tsunami victims sat untouched in a Tipperary bank account for more than three years. An internal report said a systems failure meant headquarters were not notified about the money.<br /><br />The minister revealed he wrote to the IRC on May 16 to express his belief that “<strong>as a matter of principle I regard it as unhealthy for any organisation to have individuals serving at leadership level in excess of 12 years in total and in any one position for longer than six years</strong>”.<br /><br />Tony Lawlor was re-elected as honorary vice-chairman for the 21st year running just 12 days after Shatter expressed his concerns. Ted Noonan, the society’s honorary treasurer, was re-elected for the 10th year in a row.<br /><br />A spokesman for the society said that “the IRC acknowledges the problems of the past and the manner in which poor governance and weak financial controls have contributed to these issues”, and that comprehensive reform has been initiated, including the introduction of mandatory break clauses for executive board members.<br /><br />It has also emerged that up to €7m worth of properties either owned or given for use by the IRC are not properly entered in the society’s financial statements, which is at variance with recommended accounting practice for charities. In a draft copy of the 2010 accounts, auditors state that “the society owns a number of properties whose cost is not reflected in the book value of fixed assets....the insured value of these properties is approximately €7m. No professional valuation on an open-market existing-use basis has been undertaken”.<br /><br />The IRC spokesman said that “there is a significant body of work needed to establish the precise value attached to properties that are subject to complex and historic legal arrangements” but the process should be completed within a year”.<br /><br />The IRC received €960,000 in grant aid from the state for 2011, as well as the use of a state property at 16 Merrion Square as its headquarters. While the government’s own aid organisation, Irish Aid, had its grant cut by 8% in 2008, the IRC’s grant has remained unchanged since 2006.<br /><br />Shatter said that as a beneficiary of state funding the society needs to “ensure its corporate governance standards meet what would be regarded as acceptable for an organisation of its calibre”.<br /><br />Jimmy Deenihan, A Fine Gael TD, told the Dail last year that “in an international rating of Red Cross societies across the world, the IRC was given a mark of four, with one being the best and five the worst”.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com39tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012489272112463047.post-17106619652809609222011-07-02T04:34:00.000-07:002011-07-02T04:45:42.147-07:00Irish Red Cross government funding under review amidst Ministerial concerns over board members length of serviceThe debate in Ireland’s parliament (Dail Eireann) on 29th June 2011 concerning the Irish Red Cross has revealed the extent of the Irish Government’s frustration with Irish Red Cross intransigence, obstinacy and inflexibility with regard to reform of its antiquated and outdated governance structures.<br /><br />The damage being done to the Society by the refusal of long serving board members to step down and resign is at this stage incalculable. Their continued display of disdain towards the government’s wishes and their egotistical refusal to accept that excessive service on a board is reflective of very poor practice is jeopardising not only the reputation of the Irish Red Cross but also its annual €1 million grant from the Department of Defence. Should the Government decide to cut the grant then everyone should be in no doubt where the blame lies.<br /><br />The Minister has specifically stated in written correspondence on 16th May 2011 to the Irish Red Cross that he views it as “unhealthy for any organisation to have individuals serving at leadership level in excess of 12 years in total and in any one position for longer than six years”. In response to this correspondence the Irish Red Cross re-appointed Tony Lawlor as Vice Chairman for the 21st year in a row. Readers will judge for themselves how a senior minister can be expected to react to such an affront to his advice.<br /><br />For the first time in the Dail the issue of allocating €600,000 of public money donated to the IRC intended for the Haiti Earthquake appeal to IRC’s domestic account has been highlighted. This is a very significant development. An immediate independent investigation is required in order to ensure the money is returned to the Haiti fund.<br /><br />It is also noteworthy that Fianna Fail TD (MP), Dara Calleary, raised a parliamentary question on the Irish Red Cross on the 28th June 2011. It would now appear that both government and opposition TDs have serious concerns about the Society.<br /><br />Below are highlights from the debate as well as the full detailed transcript. Involved were Labour TD (MP) Aoidáin O’ Riordáin and Minister for Justice, Defence and Equality, Alan Shatter.<br /><br />Before outlining the detailed transcript the Blog has highlighted some key remarks made by both Deputies, as follows:<br /><br /><strong>Deputy O’Riordáin:<br /></strong><br />“Concerns about misuse of power and financial irregularities in the IRC have been raised by staff, board members, media and politicians for over 20 years”<br /><br />“Transparency International Ireland has called for whistleblowing legislation to include provisions allowing for criminal prosecutions to be taken against employers who take retaliatory action against whistleblowers who report the truth in good faith”<br /><br />“The signatory on the aforementioned account (Tipperary), the society’s vice chairman, Tony Lawlor, was re-appointed as vice chairman in May 2011 for the 21st year in a row”<br /><br />“The treasurer, Ted Noonan, who failed to investigate the matter at the time, was re-appointed in May this year to the board for the tenth year running”<br /><br />“It (the IRC) broke even in 2010 only because more than €600,000 intended for Haiti was recorded as domestic income. This is a practice that has apparently gone on for years within the IRC and is morally reprehensible”<br /><br />“Based on the evidence to date, all the information now in the public domain and the real concerns that exist inside and outside this House, the Minister must seriously consider withholding the annual grant of €1 million and review its donation of free property to the IRC for use as its headquarters until such time as a comprehensive independent investigation into the society takes place and is concluded”<br /><br /><strong>Minister Shatter:<br /></strong><br />“The grant to be paid (to IRC) in 2012 is being considered as part of the review of departmental spending currently being undertaken”<br /><br />“However, in light of the claims of maladministration within the society, I asked for assurances from the chairman of the society regarding the use to which funds that are granted annually from the Vote of the Department of Defence are put”<br /><br />“I am of the view that organisations in receipt of funding from the Exchequer should publish detailed accounts that provide transparency on how such funds are used”. Note: IRC does not produce any details on how the government grant is spent.<br /><br />“Such organisations should also publish their annual reports on time. It is not satisfactory that the annual reports (of the IRC) for 2009 and 2010 remain yet to be published”. Note: This Blog understands that the 2008 Annual Report has also not been published yet.<br /><br />“While some progress has been made by the society in this regard, it is critical it makes further substantial progress to ensure its corporate governance structures comply with the highest standards. For instance, it is not conducive to good corporate governance that any individual should serve indefinitely on the central council, the executive committee or in the same appointment. I made a case on this through correspondence with the society”<br /><br />“In correspondence with the society on 16th May 2011, I expressed the view that as a matter of principle I regarded it as unhealthy for any organisation to have individuals serving at leadership level in excess of 12 years in total and in any one position for longer than six years. With this in mind, I asked the Society whether a more comprehensive reform of the corporate governance arrangements than previously proposed might be considered”.<br /><br />Serious questions must be asked of the IRC leadership as to why the Minister’s 16th May 2011 letter to the Society was not shared with Central Council members in advance of the May 28th Central Council meeting, at which at least two long serving members were re-appointed, contrary to the Minister’s wishes.<br /><br />Readers of this Blog should be aware that members of the public can obtain access to the Minister’s letters to IRC and IRC’s responses by submitting a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the Department.<br /><br />The full transcript of the Dail debate is below or available at:<br /><br /><a href="http://debates.oireachtas.ie/dail/2011/06/29/00026.asp">http://debates.oireachtas.ie/dail/2011/06/29/00026.asp</a><br /><br /><strong>Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin:</strong><br /><br /><a name="N2">I appreciate the opportunity to raise this matter.</a><br /><br /><a name="N3">I first refer to the commitment given in the programme for Government, which states: “We will initiate a detailed legal review of the basis, structures and governance of the Red Cross in Ireland to improve its functioning in the light of changing circumstances.” Serious concerns and questions have been raised about alleged abuses of power, misgovernance and misuse of financial resources in the Irish Red Cross Society for over 20 years, yet the State unquestioningly gives it an annual grant of nearly €1 million. The OPW also provides the IRC with its head office at 16 Merrion Square effectively free of charge. In comparison, the budget of Irish Aid has been cut by 8% since late 2008, while the IRC has suffered no cut whatsoever.</a><br /><br /><a name="N4">Concerns about misuse of power and financial irregularities in the IRC have been raised by staff, board members, media and politicians for over 20 years. There was a surge in revelations in 2009 and 2010 following an intensive media campaign and the decision by Noel Wardick, former head of the international department at the IRC, to go public with his concerns. Mr. Wardick spent four years trying to have the matters addressed internally - all, unfortunately, to no avail. Mr. Wardick was fired for gross misconduct in November 2010 under the charge of breaking his confidentiality agreement. This is yet another example of an employee reporting serious concerns in good faith and in the public interest and suffering serious employer reprisal. Seven months later, Mr. Wardick remains unemployed. Transparency International Ireland has called for whistleblowing legislation to include provisions allowing for criminal prosecutions to be taken against employers who take retaliatory action against whistleblowers who report the truth in good faith. It would have been easier for Mr. Wardick to remain silent.</a><br /><br /><a name="N5">In the past, the Government has always taken a hands-off approach to questions raised about the integrity of IRC actions, despite appointing its chairman and 16 members of its central council and despite the presence of a Department of Defence official on the IRC governing executive committee. It appears that Governments have been happy to involve themselves in absolutely every aspect of IRC operations except those relating to governance reform, financial irregularities and abuse of power.</a><br /><br /><a name="N6">The Minster will be aware of the scandal regarding the undeclared Tipperary bank account which was found to have €162,000 intended for the victims of the 2004 Asian tsunami lying in it for over three years. The organisation’s vice chairman was a signatory on the account. The matter was swept under the carpet despite the resignation of the then honorary secretary in protest over the society’s failure to investigate the matter. She formally wrote to the then Minister for Defence, Deputy Willie O’Dea, and was effectively ignored. An internal investigation was carried out in late 2010 but despite the identification of major breaches of financial policy and certain actions deemed as “a threat to IRC governance”, no one was held to account or blamed. Nothing has changed. The signatory on the aforementioned account, the society’s vice chairman, Tony Lawlor, was re-appointed as vice chairman in May 2011 for the 21st year in a row. The treasurer, Ted Noonan, who failed to investigate the matter at the time, was re-appointed in May this year to the board for the tenth year running.</a><br /><br /><a name="N7">The IRC made substantial operating losses in 2008 and 2009. It broke even in 2010 only because more than €600,000 intended for Haiti was recorded as domestic income. This is a practice that has apparently gone on for years within the IRC and is morally reprehensible. In reality, the society made a large operational loss in 2010, yet it still managed to pay its secretary general €165,000 and spend €140,000 on legal fees in trying to silence Mr. Wardick, including legal suits against Google and UPC.</a><br /><br /><a name="N8">Any independent examination of media reports, industrial relations hearings and parliamentary questions over the past 20 years will bear out the fact that the IRC is a highly dysfunctional organisation with real and serious questions to answer about its financial affairs. Since 2007, the IRC has had four secretaries general, which is a clear sign of the problems that remain unresolved in the society.</a><br /><br /><a name="N9">The so-called new IRC constitution is also deeply flawed and is designed to ensure those in power remain in power for many years to come. I believe there was minimal organisation-wide consultation on its drafting and it must not be approved by the Government or enshrined in legislation without significant amendment. The Minister has said he is in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General with regard to the legal review, as outlined in the programme for Government. There is a real worry that the Minister will use the new legislation to enshrine the new IRC constitution into law, which will in effect secure the power bases of the long-serving, discredited incumbents, which is exactly what they are hoping for.</a><br /><br /><a name="N10">The IRC is not obliged to report separately, in financial or narrative form, on its €1 million Government grant. It appears as a one-line income and expenditure item in its audited accounts. The Government basically gives the grant annually to the IRC and thereafter washes its hands of its responsibilities. Based on the evidence to date, all the information now in the public domain and the real concerns that exist inside and outside this House, the Minister must seriously consider withholding the annual grant of €1 million and review its donation of free property to the IRC for use as its headquarters until such time as a comprehensive independent investigation into the society takes place and is concluded.</a><br /><br /><strong>Minister for Defence (Deputy Alan Shatter):</strong> <a name="N11"></a><br /><br />I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter.<br /><br /><a name="N12">As the Deputy mentioned, the Irish Red Cross Society is the recipient of an annual grant-in-aid allocated from the Department of Defence Vote. The following are details of the grants paid to the society from the Defence Vote over the past ten years. In 2002 the grant was €809,000; in 2003 it was €821,000; in 2004 it was €866,000; in 2005 it was €880,000; in 2006 it increased to €951,000, and up to and including this year it has remained at that level. The grant to be paid in 2012 is being considered as part of the review of departmental spending currently being undertaken.</a><br /><br /><a name="N13">The grant from the Defence Vote is paid to the society each year in quarterly amounts and includes a sum of €130,000 which represents the Government’s annual contribution to the International Committee of the Red Cross. The balance of the grant goes towards the salary and administration costs of running the headquarters of the Irish society. In addition, the society also pays, from its own resources, an affiliation fee to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, which this year is expected to amount to approximately €160,000. Each year, the society publishes its independently audited annual accounts and nothing has come to light to indicate that the grant-in-aid has not been properly expended.</a><br /><br /><a name="N14">As the society is a body corporate which, in accordance with the legislation, is responsible for the handling of its own internal affairs, it is not a matter for my Department to be involved in the day-to-day running of the society. However, in light of the claims of maladministration within the society, I asked for assurances from the chairman of the society regarding the use to which the funds that are granted annually from the Vote of the Department of Defence are put. Comprehensive and satisfactory answers have been provided by the chairman, which showed that the total cost of running the head office of the society in 2010 amounted to just under €1.3 million. </a><br /><br />I am of the view that organisations in receipt of funding from the Exchequer should publish detailed accounts that provide transparency on how such funds are used.<br /><br /><a name="N15">Such organisations should also publish their annual reports on time. It is not satisfactory that the annual reports for 2009 and 2010 remain yet to be published. </a><br /><br />The programme for Government provides for the initiation of a detailed legal review of the basis, structures and governance of the Red Cross in Ireland to improve its functioning in light of changing circumstances. Proposals for reform of the governance of the Irish Red Cross Society initially arose from a resolution that was passed in November 2007 by the council of delegates of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. It urged all national societies to examine and update their statutes, rules and related legal texts by 2010.<br /><a name="N16">A working group to propose changes in the governance of the Irish society was established by the Irish Red Cross in 2008. Its chairman presented the findings, which included changes recommended by the international federation, to the central council of the Irish Red Cross Society at a meeting held in November 2009. The working group’s report was then submitted to the Department of Defence early last year.</a><br /><br /><a name="N17">Following the Department’s review of these proposals and the related legislation, a draft order that would amend the Irish Red Cross ministerial order 1939 was submitted to the Office of the Attorney General. The 1939 order sets out the basis upon which the society is governed and was made pursuant to the Red Cross Act 1938. Discussions with the Office of the Attorney General on the extent of changes that can be made to the 1939 order are continuing. Whatever changes are made to it, a comprehensive review of all Red Cross legislation, and in particular the primary legislation, will then be commenced by my Department.</a><br /><br /><a name="N18">In this regard, while I am conscious of the importance attaching to the independence of the society, I have been in contact with the chairman of the Irish Red Cross recently about the society’s corporate governance arrangements. On 8 June 2011, he advised me that work is well under way with regard to corporate governance changes. Initiatives introduced have included statement of directors’ roles, responsibilities and accountabilities; a signed code of conduct for directors and management; a strategic planning framework; a register of organisational risks; an induction process for new directors; the establishment of an independent audit committee with external participation; performance evaluation for senior management and plans for board evaluation; a statement of fund-raising principles and behavioural code; and analysis and reporting of non-compliant branch financial returns. Work is well advanced in drafting financial policies relating to reserves management, borrowing capital expenditure, procurement and investment.</a><br /><br /><a name="N19">While some progress has been made by the society in this regard, it is crucial it makes further substantial progress to ensure its corporate governance structures comply with the highest standards. For instance, it is not conducive to good corporate governance that any individual should serve indefinitely on the central council, the executive committee or in the same appointment. I made a case on this through correspondence to the society. As a beneficiary of State funding, both directly and indirectly, I have urged the society to make further substantial progress in this area to ensure its corporate governance standards meet what would be regarded as acceptable for an organisation of its calibre.</a><br /><br /><a name="N20">In correspondence with the society on 16 May 2011, I expressed the view that as a matter of principle I regarded it as unhealthy for any organisation to have individuals serving at leadership level in excess of 12 years in total and in any one position for longer than six years. With this in mind, I asked the society whether a more comprehensive reform of the corporate governance arrangements than previously proposed might be considered. The chairman, in response, explained the society is making progress in developing a much more robust corporate governance system.</a><br /><br /><a name="N21">The issue of turnover and rotation at leadership levels was raised at the recent central council meeting. The chairman informed me agreement was reached on a mandatory three-year break or one full-term break for executive committee members in circumstances where a member may have previously served for two full terms. This agreement occurred subsequent to correspondence with the society in which I engaged.</a><br /><br /><a name="N22">I have arranged to meet with the chairman of the society presently. An overriding principle must be to ensure that any legislative changes made have the full support of the international federation and that the society’s management framework requires the full and required standards acceptable in the 21st century.</a><br />ENDSUnknownnoreply@blogger.com20