"Serious administrative failures" and "serious deficiencies in accounting procedures" at Irish Red Cross but still no-one is held accountable

The lack of accountability within the Irish Red Cross must be one of its most defining characteristics.

An internal report by the Irish Red Cross on the handling of the Tipperary Tsunami bank account, despite many serious shortcomings, is nevertheless a damning indictment on the organisation and those responsible for what happened. The internal report not only exposes the violation of financial procedures around the Tipperary Tsunami bank account it highlights the fact that officers of the Tipperary Branch, of whom the current organisational Vice Chairman is one, flagrantly ignored Irish Red Cross policy concerning all branch bank accounts and finances over at least a three year period. Why did they behave in this fashion? Why was it allowed happen year after year? And why, after it has been officially exposed in an internal report, is no-one being held accountable?

The internal report makes it very clear that such behaviour and practise is “unacceptable”. The report also states that the Tipperary branch should have been issued a final written warning and if it still continued with its violation of policy it should have been closed down. Given that the Tipperary Branch Officers regularly and year on year violated Irish Red Cross financial and accounting policy the question must be asked why the branch was not closed and all officers stood down. Had this happened and had Irish Red Cross regulations been implemented the current organisational Vice Chairman, who has been in his post for twenty years, would have been automatically forced to resign his post. The current Vice Chairman is elected to the post via the Tipperary Branch to the Area Committee to Central Council to the Executive Committee. If the Tipperary Branch was closed down, as it should have been due to its repeated failure to adhere to organisational finance procedures, then the Vice Chairman’s election to the Area Committee, Central Council and Executive Committee would automatically be null and void. Therefore his election as Vice Chairman would automatically be null and void and he would have been forced to step down.

The issuing of a final written warning to the Tipperary Branch and its eventual closure should have taken place somewhere between 2005 and 2008. This is clearly noted in the internal Irish Red Cross report. Why did this not happen? Why did members of the Executive Committee not close the Tipperary Branch or at the very least insist that those officers responsible for the unacceptable actions resign immediately? Who were they afraid of? Why did they fail in their duties? Who was protecting whom? And what was really happening in the Tipperary Branch?

Had the Executive Committee and its master, the Central Council, acted decisively in 2005/06/07 the Irish Red Cross would most certainly have a different Vice Chairman today. In addition an organisational reform and transformation agenda would have been well and truly underway. A very different Irish Red Cross would now exist. Unfortunately the reality is a damaged and under performing organisation. No-one has been held accountable for clear violations of policy and an outrageous misuse/non use of publicly donated money over nearly a four year period.

Much of the focus of this Blog during 2011 will be on accountability. It has now been established beyond doubt that there are serious failings within the Irish Red Cross. The Minister for Defence, Tony Killeen, has admitted this in the Dail. The Irish Red Cross Chairman, David J. O’ Callaghan, has admitted this on public record. Those responsible for these failings MUST be held accountable. Until they are the Irish Red Cross will be unable to move forward.

Much of what this Blog has written about during 2010 has been fully vindicated by Irish Red Cross’s own internal investigation. Sadly much more remains to be investigated and revealed. Even during the recent Christmas period Irish Red Cross could not escape being mentioned on TV3’s program, Ireland’s Biggest Scandals. This program analysed and commented on a number of big Irish scandals over the years. In discussing Charles Haughey, a former Irish Prime Minister implicated in a number of corrupt activities, the well known and respected journalist Kevin Myers stated that ‘Charles Haughey helped create the Provisional IRA. He did this by giving them £100,000 which was channelled through the Irish Red Cross’. This shocking revelation is covered at more length in the Arms Trial transcripts as well as in Jack Lynch’s (former Irish Prime Minister) official biography. All this, however, supposedly happened over thirty years ago. The focus of this blog is not on accusations of funding the IRA but on much more recent issues and the need for those to be investigated. The accusation of funding the IRA via the Irish Red Cross, while deeply disturbing, was dealt with by the Irish Government, the Courts and the Irish police at the time.

When it comes to genuine accountability, something which requires real courage and integrity, the Irish Red Cross could do well to take a leaf out of the book of the Ancient Romans. They had a tradition that took accountability to new heights. Whenever one of their engineers constructed an arch, as the capstone was hoisted into place, the engineer assumed accountability for his work in the most profound way possible: he stood under the arch.

Oh that the Irish Red Cross leadership could demonstrate such bravery and mettle.

During 2011 the Irish Red Cross Central Council, the organisation’s supreme governing authority, will hold a minimum of three meetings, the first in February and thereafter in May and November. They may of course decide to hold more should they deem it necessary. The February meeting will hopefully provide the Central Council an opportunity to meet the newly appointed permanent Secretary General. This Blog would encourage the Central Council to also hold a full scale General Assembly in 2011. There is no legitimate reason for a General Assembly not to have taken place since 2005, when one is supposed to take place every two years. Again this is a failure of accountability and an insult to organisational democracy.

2011 will bring many changes in Ireland and it is hoped that such change will permeate all the way down to the Irish Red Cross. Central Council members must re-assert their authority and control of the organisation. Central Council must accept its responsibility and not continue to abdicate its duties. As someone very wisely said “No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible”. But EVERY snowflake IS responsible.

There are many issues within the Irish Red Cross that need addressing and reform but the following three matters must be a priority for early 2011:

1. Those officers implicated in the Tipperary Tsunami Bank account scandal and responsible for the clear violation, over a number of years, of financial and accounting policy must be held fully accountable for their actions. In addition a number of serious shortcomings in the internal report must be addressed, corrected and further investigated.

2. The long running practice by the Irish Red Cross of using Overseas Disaster Appeal money to fund domestic activities and expenses must cease immediately and a full independent investigation launched so that those responsible are fully held to account and removed from the Society. All monies raised for Overseas Disasters but channelled to domestic expenses must be returned to the International Department. As the sums involved are vast this will need to be carefully managed so as not to jeopardise the financial stability of the organisation.

3. The Irish Red Cross reportedly has a property portfolio of €7 million. The Irish Red Cross external auditors have stated in the accounts of the Irish Red Cross that the Society is “at variance with Standard Accounting Practice for Charities” in not declaring these properties as income in its accounts and recording them as assets on its balance sheet. The auditors have stated this in their formal report in 2008 and again in 2009. Mystery and secrecy surrounds the Irish Red Cross property portfolio. A full independent investigation into this matter needs to commence immediately, the deeds of ownership of all properties declared, a full list of the properties produced and their current uses and income outlined in full to each and every Central Council member. Continued breaches of Standard Accounting Practice must cease forthwith.

The next twelve months can either be a time of change and rebirth for the Irish Red Cross or it can be a time of stagnation and decline. With a new Chairman in place and a soon to be new Secretary General there is no better time for fundamental reform to take place and previous wrongs to be reversed. For this to happen though those responsible for the sins of the past must be held accountable and be seen to be held accountable while those responsible for ensuring they are held accountable must do so.

It’s not only what we do, but also what we do not do, for which we are accountable-Moliere