Bóthar is pressing ahead with its annual appeal, asking farmers to donate calves, as a garda investigation into alleged financial irregularities at the charity continues.
Bóthar and its Chief Operating Officer Niamh Mulqueen declined to comment on requests from the Farming Independent for details of its current activities.
We asked Bóthar if it has issued an apology to farmers for the theft of over €1m of funding.
We also asked how many farmers have donated livestock to the charity since the scandal around the misappropriation of funds came to light, and if it has communicated directly with farmers who previously donated livestock or money, about the scandal.
Breakdown
Further, we asked how much money it had received in monetary donations in 2020 and 2021 and to give us a breakdown of the number of livestock Bóthar exported as a charity in 2020 and 2021, and details of where they were exported to.
We also asked how many staff it currently employs and its salary bill for 2021, as well as the salary of the chief operating officer.
It did not respond to our requests, but it’s understood it exported over 50 in-calf heifers and 130 goats last year, which were donated by Irish farmers and Bóthar support groups.
Last year, former Bóthar Chief Executive David Moloney admitted taking suitcases full of cash out of the international aid charity, but denied liability for all of the €1.1m that had been misappropriated, claiming other parties were also involved in the misappropriation of the funds.
In a court affidavit, he admitted he began taking money in 1999. Peter Ireton co-founded the charity in 1991 to export livestock to families in developing nations. He retired as chief executive in 2011 when he was succeeded by Mr Moloney.
Ireton was found dead at his home in Limerick in tragic circumstances on April 19 last year.
In an interview with the Irish Independent shortly before his death, Mr Ireton denied any impropriety and said he was “amazed” to learn the charity was investigating alleged payments to him.