numerous occasions, as you will see below, on the scandalous behaviour in Irish charities. Millions are missing and yet the Government have no will to change these daylight robberies of taxpayers and donors monies. I say to John Farrelly today and Eamon Timmins – Why are you hiding? You all know each other. Let’s face it John Farrelly and Hooper Spin the Wheel (600+ charities) are all friends. The salaries drawn down are criminal alone and taxpayers need to know the truth. I repeat Millions are missing and I would put an estimate that £100 million has literally been robbed from charities in the last number of years in this corrupt country. Read the article below and make up your own minds: Mr Walsh is only the tip of the Iceberg.
Article written some months ago in 2018
I don’t have a figure that would be correct at the moment for the number of charities in Ireland but let me make a rough guess as I write this it has to be about 10,000+. They range from Oxfam to Irish Cancer Society to Suicide to Acquired Brain Injury to Irish Heart Foundation and I could go on and on right down to Save the Goldfish and people are getting State money and grants. Today I am going to outline the so-called elite or let’s call them the so-called Mafiosa heads who believe they are untouchable and the salaries they draw down. If these people have any problem with this article please feel free to give me whatever feedback or fightback they wish.
Fergus Finlay
The man with the Cardinal’s voice and former adviser to the Labour party and fixer; now probably on a pension or two, draws down e120,000 pa + expenses from Barnardos. A man who tweets regularly and takes the high ground and who is a golfing partner most likely of Frank the Dodger Dunlop; they sure don’t play with the same balls.
Avril Power
Married to Headstone head Sheahan, editor of O’Brien’s Independent. Avril is a failed politician and forgets the old story – eaten bread is so soon forgotten. Why? Mary Hannafin was her main sponsor, mentor and tutor when she got her scholarship into Trinity College on a back to education scheme sponsored by Roddy Molloy in some convoluted way, Chief Executive to former FAS now Solas (and who we know is no friend of Shane Ross!). Avril when she lost her seat in Politics landed the job as Chief Executive of the Asthma Society drawing down it is said, one tenth of takings of the Charity which could be in the region of e140,000 per year plus they added in a new BMW to keep her quiet. Mick Wallace left the Dail in disgust about this 4 weeks ago and threatened to wear a suit if she wasn’t plucked soon. Well Avril was not “plucked” she has recently been appointed Chief Executive to the Irish Cancer Society so within the charity sector Avril is on the upward spiral now. Her husband Fionn called Gerry Adams (Life of Adams by Vincent Browne) on Dumb and Dumber a Monster (programme some weeks) – I now want to ask Fionn a question – What do you call Third Sector Chief Executives who draw down so much money on the backs of people who donate to charities? Where is the proper investigative journalism and the reports of this major scandals in the charity sector in Ireland?
Professor Hooper
I know he will be so insulted that he is not first on the list but Professor Hooper also known as Spin the Balls and Wheels is the advocate for over 750 charities and I have no idea what he draws down but people say it could be up to e1.5 million per year!!!. I find this way too much but then again he did a degree in the Smurfit Business School on how to offload taxes and assembling paper in warehouses. Hooper comes on the radar as if he holds the image of Mother Teresa — pure and simple. Well, let’s get real here. Spin the Wheel draws down a salary from the goodwill of the Irish people who give to charities and with that there must come a moral and social responsibility in telling the facts and the truth and what I mean by this is we must be told how many millions each year are literally stolen, squandered, and used for free travel, meals, pubs, holidays, for these elites who head up Charities? All these millions that go missing are well covered up under the guise of organisational expenses and staff payments. Hooper will tell us to check the websites (costing thousands) but let’s get one thing clear here, Conlon who is now in custody in Switzerland has turned the websites and audits on their heads. Let me make one more point transparent here today:- People are before the courts in this country every five minutes from either theft of a tin of beans to a motor car. When have you last seen a CEO or somebody like Paul Kelly, Console, and so many others, who have destroyed the Trust of the Irish people before the courts?
Mo Flynn
It’s ironic that I began this article yesterday and another scandal has broken out in the Irish Hospice at Harold’s Cross (for the dying). Mo Flynn who I find to be offensive and arrogant is the central character in this scandal. Thousands of euros have been spent on meals in the Shelbourne and other top restaurants in town and on fine wines. It is covered up again by telling the Irish people a litany of lies. I mean by this Flynn is trying to tell us the meals were a public relations exercise to keep the volunteers happy and on board. So I ask Mo Flynn today, who is now in charge of Rehab, and on a salary package exceeding €300,000 pa to step down in disgrace. Yes, I mean Get Out now! Where do we end this? The Gardai are now involved, yet again, the apartment in Spain was sold and one of the staff members at Harold’s Cross, it appears, literally took the money and only got dismissed – no charges yet again to be faced i.e. we hope until now. Charities are now becoming a cancer in Irish society because the Government are giving Irish citizens money in the region of Billion + figures. The people in charge of these charities would not be acceptable in the private sector. How did Mo Flynn cover up the scandal at Harold’s Cross and then land a job replacing Angela Kerins who today has the Irish Government in the Supreme Court (PAC committee). People need accountability but more importantly the every day and every week daylight robbery of charity money must be stopped. This money is given through the goodwill of Irish citizens. I ask all politicians today, people, and senators to stand up and ask the hard questions just like they did in relation to Michael Colgan and all the alleged sex pests when the story broke. So again I say Stand Up!
I want to state one more point before I finish we need a Prime Time special (Paul Maguire and his team) to dig in the Mafiosa and the Charities and we need to find out who was involved with Conlon. We need journalists to stand up also and start writing the facts from whatever information they may gather. We also should have a special Late Late show just like the Toy show and bring in the people who have been affected by the gangsters who run our charities. One that comes to mind is St John of Gods where children with disabilities were left in Limbo while directors of the same so called charity gave themselves €300,000 each from rents of properties that are in fact owned by the Irish people. Again I call for urgent investigation into the massive fraud that is going on daily in this country. I don’t want Ivan Spin the Wheel coming out and giving me mis-information (fake news). I want the right calibre of people to investigate and to hunt down the wrong doers out of their castles and their sense of entitlement. These people feel they have a licence to rob and are about the Rule of Irish Law. I say today that they do not.
of years, now so my question is: Who gave him the position in handling millions belonging to charities (or to put it a different way belonging to the goodwill of Irish people)?. Mainstream media again are also silent, just like the way they were at the Charleton tribunal. Conlon owns two houses on affluent St. Mary’s Road in Dublin 4. Enough said…. would you agree Fred?
———– relevant info ————–
At least 800 charities are being contacted and told money donated to them through an Irish website may be missing amid a worldwide hunt for any of the €3.8m allegedly misappropriated from a collapsed Dublin technology company.
High profile businessman Peter Conlon, a former EY Entrepreneur of the Year finalist, who set up the collapsed company, is understood to be in custody in Switzerland.
The missing funds were uncovered and Irish authorities alerted after the Revenue appointed liquidator Myles Kirby, of Dublin firm Kirby Healy, to recover approximately €400,000 in unpaid taxes from Pembroke Dynamic Internet Services on January 22.
Irish charities ranging in scale from Trócaire and Concern to parish-level GAA clubs and local animal shelters, along with hundreds of international good-causes, were signed up to use the Ammado fund-raising website before the spectacular events of the past week. The liquidator has now begun contacting charities that used the service.
“It would appear that at least 800 charities may be affected by the liquidation of the company, which is connected to the Ammado Foundation,” according to a letter sent on behalf of liquidator, seen by the Irish Independent, that has been received by managers at hundreds of charities in Ireland and overseas. “The liquidator has established that there is likely to be a shortfall to the charities and is examining the records to ascertain what amounts, if any, are due to the individual charities. Given the number of charities and transactions involved, that exercise is likely to take some time.”
On Tuesday, as the picture within the business emerged, the High Court granted a freezing order preventing Peter Conlon or anyone linked to him moving or selling his assets anywhere in the world.
It’s understood that, armed with that freezing order, the liquidator is now also on the trail of any assets that might be linked to the missing millions and potentially recovered either for the charities or for the business.
It was alleged in court on Tuesday that “misappropriation (of charity funds) happened under the direction and control” of Mr Conlon.
Since the liquidator’s dramatic rush to the court, three state agencies, the Charities Regulator, the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement, and gardaí are now all involved in overlapping probes into the collapsed firm.
But the scale of the latest crisis to grip the charities sector raises serious questions about regulatory oversight of companies and charities.
Despite being responsible for its own money and millions on behalf of charities, Pembroke Dynamic had no financial controller.
Authorities in Switzerland appear to have acted much earlier than those here, in response to intelligence from Swiss-based charities.
The Ammado website was disabled yesterday.
However, according to the latest Companies Office filings a company called Ammado Technologies Ltd, where Peter Conlon is listed as a director, continues to trade as normal despite the by-now well-aired concerns.
The Irish Independent has also now learned that Peter Conlon attempted as late as December 6 last year to find new financial backers, circulating a prospectus that claimed Ammado Technologies had no debts and owned valuable intellectual property, despite the main related trading business being on the brink of collapse by that point.
Pembroke Dynamic previously traded as Ammado Internet Services.
In his affidavit which was opened to the court last Tuesday, Mr Kirby said the platform took in €5.8m in donations between March 2016 and September 2017. It took in another €396,000 from December 12, 2017 to January 12, 2018.
Rossa Fanning, SC for the liquidator, said in the past week Mr Kirby had discovered there was a €3.8m deficit in funds that ought to have been remitted to the charities.
The court heard there is currently just €357,000 in the company’s bank account.
In his affidavit, Mr Kirby says he believes Mr Conlon has “demonstrated his intention to dispose of assets and put them beyond my reach”.
Irish Independent
n robbed from Irish charities. There are people out there today living behind electronic gates with the two mercs in the driveway and the boat on the Shannon, all derived from charity monies. Let me put this a more direct way: I can name 23 people who should at this moment be in prison but they are protected by the elite and the corruption around them.
Fred.
Ex-hospice charity employee quizzed over €280k ‘fraud’
Robin Schiller – 02 October 2018 02:30 AM
Our Lady’s Hospice lost €280,000 in funds following the sale of a Spanish property that was left to it in a will.
Our Lady’s Hospice lost €280,000 in funds following the sale of a Spanish property that was left to it in a will.
A former employee at Ireland’s largest hospice has been arrested by gardai investigating a suspected €280,000 fraud.
The Herald can reveal the man, aged in his 50s, was arrested by detectives and taken to Crumlin Garda Station yesterday.
He was picked up for questioning in relation to the sale of a Spanish property belonging to Our Lady’s Hospice, located in Harold’s Cross and Blackrock.
The registered charity lost €280,000 in funds after the property, which had been bequeathed to it in a will, was sold for a fraction of its value. The loss first came to light after an audit into the hospice’s accounts between 2008 and 2015.
Dismissed
Following an internal investigation, the employee at the centre of the property deal was dismissed by the hospice, while the Charities Regulator and the HSE were also notified.
Gardai were also contacted and detectives based at Crumlin Garda Station launched an investigation into the alleged fraud.
They are being assisted by officers from the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB), also known as the fraud squad, who specialise in such investigations.
While the employee was dismissed for “serious negligence”, the hospice was not equipped to determine if a crime had been committed and therefore notified gardai who are continuing to investigate the matter.
A senior source last night said the garda investigation was “complex and lengthy” due to the nature of the allegations.
It has been ongoing for around two years and resulted in yesterday’s arrest of the former worker, who was employed at the hospice for several years.
The revelations came as a significant blow to the registered charity, which received €3.18m of its €37.9m income in 2015 from donations and fundraising, while an additional €1.1m came from assets left in wills.
The money raised is vital to the hospice, with accounts showing €2.6m of it is used to fund staff salaries not covered by income from the HSE and patients. Previously, Our Lady’s Hospice confirmed the employee was dismissed after the issue was uncovered.
“We were concerned the sale did not produce the expected benefit,” the hospice said.
“The board of directors also reported its concerns to the relevant authorities – the gardai, the Charities Regulator, and the HSE – and we have co-operated fully with them.”
The hospice said its primary concern at all times was the needs and care of its residents, patients and their families, a statement said.
“We are grateful for the support we receive from everybody who is associated with Our Lady’s Hospice and Care Services – our residents and patients, their families, our fundraising supporters, our staff and volunteers and the general public.
Apologise
“The board of directors and the senior management apologise unreservedly for the shortcomings outlined in the audit.
“We are sorry that we did not have more robust financial processes in place to prevent any such issue arising.
“Our Lady’s Hospice and Care Services has introduced a suite of financial policies including a robust bequest and legacy policy with checks and balances to improve our financial procedures and ensure best practices.
“The staff member involved was expeditiously dismissed by Our Lady’s Hospice and Care Services,” it added.
The hospice was founded in 1879 by the Sisters of Charity and employs over 520 staff. It also has about 300 volunteers.
Around 3,900 people benefited from its care services last year, during which it also delivered 12,300 specialist palliative home care vis costs
aimed-1.360346
… yet this person who is insolvent, living on social welfare, and “dependent on legal aid”:
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/high-court/console-founder-needs-legal-aid-to-fight-case-court-hears-1.3476614
… is still living in a house that was literally robbed from the charity’s funds. It’s obvious this case is appropriate to the ODCE, but where are the other authorities? Why isn’t the man himself in court?
And for a final touch of insanity, how can he still be holding onto his Man of the Year award?
http://www.thejournal.ie/paul-kelly-console-people-of-the-year-award-return-2856528-Jul2016/
she may have been barred from the mighty Tesco store that operates in Ireland pre Brexit and all profits fly back to London. They may hire some thousands fo staff here but let’s face it is yellow pack labour and wages. Don’t forget on this blog the case of the Cabbage, the Corrupt Cops and Tesco, a case that happened and was laughed out of court and received no publicity.
Now Peter Conlon stole £4.4 million off the most vulnerable people in this country. Let me re-phase this. Conlon stole the money not on impulse but he planned it for at least two years. He put the £4.4 million into his own tech company which was failing. He received a three year sentence some days ago in a Swiss court and as said above, he spent 9 months in a posh Swiss hotel jail, he complained about the room service, and the deal is he is to be freed in a number of days. Conlon had a track record. He received money from semi-state down the years and there were problems there also. Yet, nobody marked this man’s card and he will fly to London and he will carry on regardless. Since his sentence and media coverage NOT ONE MEMBER OF THE IRISH CHARITY SECTOR HAS COME OUT TO MAKE A COMMENT AND I ASK WHY NOT? The answer is simple: the cover-up has started already. When you rob big in Ireland you are a National monument but if you attempt to steal as above in the link, you are going to prison. Even Mr Coll-Dither will agree with this, our expert in over borrowing and causing the next financial crisis. God Forbid. We have so many ditherers in office in Apathetic Ireland that it is getting so confusing that not even Fungi cannot find his way home.
Let’s try and find out what went through the mind of this Judge in Cork. The Pringles cost £1.50 and just bear with me now. This woman will have cost the State in the last 24 hours, at least £2,000. Reason: To process her incarceration to Limerick prison, two Gardai in a taxi to deliver her to Limerick and then the cost to the State to keep her in prison. If the woman stays for one week and is released early, it will then probably have cost the state in and around £4,000. Don’t think that Mr Dave Lewis, CEO, Tesco cares about these costs because it is propaganda theft deterrence from their point of view. If you look at Tesco court cases, they tend to always focus on those who steal little and some so desperate because they are hungry.
There is a two tier health system in Ireland but don’t ever forget there is also an equally severe two tear Justice system. All you have to do is look back at the banking inquiry and those bankers who faced the courts who received the most lenient of sentences for the most horrible crimes to the people of Ireland, who lost billions. I repeat Ireland is not a country that engages with the concept of the fair playing pitch. It was always about cronyism ie who you know in high places or even low.
rin pictured with Taoiseach Enda Kenny in 2014.
Image: Eamonn Farrell/Photocall Ireland
Updated: 18.13
FINE GAEL TD Michelle Mulherin has repaid a further €1,295 for calls she made to Kenya from her personal phone in Leinster House.
A spokesperson for the Oireachtas confirmed that Mulherin had repaid the money, but said they would not be commenting further on the matter.
The Mayo TD, who had previously paid back €2,000, repaid the additional funds after it emerged that 130 calls to an African mobile phone cost a total of €3,295.
Here are the Oireachtas receipts for the repaid money:
Screenshot 2015-02-24 at 18.10.48
Screenshot 2015-02-24 at 17.59.17
Source: The Oireachtas
The extra cost of the calls was discovered after Mulherin requested an investigation into how details of the situation made their way into the public domain following an RTÉ Investigations Unit report.
In a letter sent to the Ceann Comhairle, Mulherin said she was amazed to have been identified publicly.
Screenshot 2015-02-24 at 17.56.44
The Oireachtas report found that it did not release any material that might have identified the TD. It states:
No details in relation to calls dialled by Deputy Mulherin were released for both legislative reasons but also because the Oireachtas Service does not record that information.
Mulherin has not responded to TheJournal.ie’s request for comment.
Last month she confirmed on Today with Seán O’Rourke that the calls were made to an individual by the name of Danson Kole who she said had been “maligned and defamed” in the media. He worked on her election campaign in 2011.
Yes, I made some calls to Africa. None of them were personal. Indeed for the most part they pertained to a third party, who is a private citizen, who had been maligned and defamed in a newspaper article because of association with me and potential legal action arising there from.
At the time Ken Foxe, the RTÉ journalist who broke the story, pointed out on Twitter that many of the calls made to Kenya pre-date the newspaper article in question:
Further Comment:
Reading the above, we all know now, that Michelle Mulherin went into Government buildings in the early hours of the morning and made phone calls to Africa and beyond. Ms Mulherin had no intention of paying for the phone calls and it was only when a sharp eyed civil servant noticed the bill that it came to the attention of the Dail and the media. My question today is: the woman in Cork who “popped the Pringles open & they called the Cops”, she was then arrested and charged, taken to court and now is in Limerick prison, for Theft. Now, I mentioned yesterday about the two tier legal system. Michelle Mulherin was caught defrauding the Irish taxpayers, she was not charged, she was not brought to court and the only prison that she entered was the Seanad when she lost her seat in the Dail. Enda Kenny literally rewarded her out of his 12 personal appointments to a Senate seat for basic theft and old friendship and loyalty. It says a lot about the calibre of Kenny and more importantly it says a lot about Mulherin also. In any other country, Mulherin would have faced natural due process but this is Ireland and again I repeat Selective Justice and who you Know is the password. Corruption and cronyism is now part of every day life in this country and if a proper Audit was done in Government buildings and various departments I could safetly say millions of euros of taxpayers money going astray every month. We must ask the question? Where is this money going too.
Fred
ily Mail
I have written for two decades now (since I was a student) about the corruption in charities in Ireland and the Gravy Train of gangsters among them. The night Paul Kelly, the Pilot, the Priest, the Doctor, the Bishop, was receiving his award live on RTE from City West, I and three other people rang RTE and City West during that week and on the night in question, outlining the facts of the real Mr Paul Kelly and the ruthless bastard he truly is behind the glasses. Kelly received one of the highest accolades in modern Irish society known as The Person of the Year Award. On three occasions while on the phone giving the facts about Gangster Kelly, I was told that I was a trouble maker, that I was defaming one of Ireland’s brightest lights, a man of vision and integrity unlike me and other jealous associates. One of these people is a senior journalist, as I write this, on a mainstream paper. I had found a copy where Kelly was arrested at the Royal City of Dublin hospital, Upper Baggot Street, where he was posing as a doctor back in 1982. Now we all know the Truth so I feel exonerated but no apology every came from RTE or the journalists. Some people at that time were urging Kelly to run for the Aras – he was deemed to have all the credentials. On hindsight – he certainly had.
NOW WE HAVE PIETA HOUSE AND JOAN FREEMAN; HER HUSBAND AND OTHER AFFILIATES WHO WERE INVOLVED FOR YEARS.
Pieta House in my opinion is the greatest con job since the days of Charlie Haughey. It is the greatest bluff since the days of the Sweep Stakes and monies going missing. It really has brainwashed thousands of young and old Irish people. As one insider who I met this week informed me, the powers that be within Pieta House run it like Scientology – if you don’t obey and look the other way in relation to payouts, handouts, cash in hand transactions, you are told you will be set up, thrown to the wolves and you are shown the exit door – No Pieta New York for you.
(From Light to Darkness) I only wish this was true. I have walked behind too many coffins from suicide, as have so many others, but I refuse to be brainwashed by any Joan Freeman or any other idiots who feel they are entitled to give people a false sense of security that all monies are going for the sole purpose of easing the pain of families and their loved ones. Today’s Mail puts a different light on Pieta House and I have been saying this for years – Charities are for the elites, the inner circle, who have the ears of Govt ministers and other members of the Dail. This has to stop. Pieta House is another Fraud. People may think today that I am just writing out of bitterness, I am writing out of desperation to get to the root and the Truth as to where the monies are in fact spent. Let us re-phrase Pieta’s famous war cry. FROM DARKNESS TO MISSING MILLIONS, FROM DARKNESS TO ENTITLEMENT, FROM DARKNESS TO HIDDEN DEALS, FROM DARKNESS TO NO AUDITS. People in Ireland today have a dose of APATHY that urgently must be addressed. Pieta House, if properly run, has a very important function like any charity but just have a look around you, especially over the last 7 years, there has been scandal after scandal. The insider at Pieta House informed me that at least 6 members of staff, according to his figures, allegedly have shared between them £2.2 m in the last 5 years.
Joan Freeman should come out today and tell the Truth. She has been involved in charities and that Gravy Train for almost 45 years (and so has her husband). Joan began with ISPCC and she also is known as Joan Lowe. Herself and her sisters were models for charities and walked many planks of honour and privilege. I am not accusing Joan Freeman of any wrongdoing. I am asking her to come out and give the full facts as to how the monies were spent when she was part of the Pieta House group. I also would like to ask her if she is a personal friend of Ivan Cooper (Spin the Wheel) and also if she used her position in the Senate at any time for her own personal gain.
I will close by saying or let me say it this way: the People of Ireland deserve a better Charity sector. They deserve respect and the Truth. I am today reminded of Maurice McCabe: He had the courage to take on the private army of an Garda Siochana, the Department of Justice, the Ministers, literally the entire Government and He Won. This honourable man spoke the Truth, backed up by a solid, loyal wife Lorraine and a young family. Today I ask people to come out now within the charity sector and become the whisleblowers of Truth and Disclosure and give the people of Ireland the information, no matter how bad it looks, that they deserve. Charities are run on the goodwill of a Nation. The monies of these charities sadly is spent by a number of rogues and Gravy Train robbers and this is going on too frequently and for many years now. My figures and I repeat this again will stand up. There is over £120 mn + missing from charity money in this country in the last 15 years.
The question where is it?
Mr Timmins, Irish Charity Regulator – please come forward.
Fred
I mean serious financial irregularities baggage. Yet, she seems to think that she walks on a water and is above any law in relation to how charities and the goodwill money of the people of Ireland. Mo Flynn as you will read below has many questions to answer but as I keep repeating, for years now, Corruption in the Charity Sector is so rampant, even the Mafia are envious. Mo Flynn signed this letter yesterday asking for more money. Micheal Martin, FF, and Tanaiste of this Government with the cosy deal being signed this weekend, actually stood in the Dail and asked for more monies on behalf of this pair below and others who have had the hard neck to sign off on the crisis in the Charity Sector yet Mo Flynn draws down a salary in excess of £300,000 a year, not including the free travel and junkets.
Now we come to Barbara O’Connell, Acquired Brain Injury. If my memory serves me correctly I am utterly shocked this morning to be the recipient of Fake News. A couple of years ago I read in the paper that Barbara O’Connell had stepped down from the position of CEO at ABI Ireland because she was exposed in relation to the scandal of “Macy’s, New York and the Painting”. Let me put this in a more simplistic way. Barbara O’Connell flew to New York and used a charity credit card for her personal gain. She bought her husband a painting in excess of £2,000 on the same Visa card that belonged to the Irish People. At the time she apologised and the news reports then stated that she was stepping down from her role as CEO. Well, let us go from Fake News to Reality. Ms O’Connell has not stepped down and she faced no charges or any disciplinary hearing. Why? I again repeat – Are these people who run some of the Charities ie Third Sector, so entrenched with members of the Government that they are protected and cannot be charged with any fraudulent behaviour. Yesterday, the above and below mentioned, signed a letter which cried out CRISIS WE NEED MORE MONEY – But for Who?
Read below and make up your own minds. We need Accountability, we need Transparency and more importantly we need enforcement. Sadly we have neither of the above. I ask Eamon Timmins today to stop hiding behind the hedge and stand up, take a leaf from Maurice McCabe’s book and do your job on behalf of the Irish people. I will soon be writing on the scandal at St John of God’s and the story that never was printed by the main media, yet another scandal. One must ask now why are journalists across the main spectrum fail to report the facts and about the missing millions in the Charity Sector. Don’t forget Peter Conlon is being released from a Swiss jail within the next few days. 9 Months in a cosy cell for £4.4 million – not a bad deal at all. Again you have to ask the question IS CORRUPTION LEGAL IN IRELAND BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE REWARDED FOR BREAKING EVERY LAW IN THE BOOK.
Fred
==================================
Acquired Brain Injury Ireland and CEO Barbara O’Connell, Charities in focus, Waste of public funds
CHARITY CEO’S €2.3k SHOPPING SPREE IN NEW YORK
Posted on 14 August 2016.
By: Michael O’Farrell
Investigations Editor
THE boss of a disability group racked up €2,328 on a charity credit card in a single day’s shopping in New York.
Barbara O’Connell’s personal spending using her Acquired Brain Injury Ireland credit card included more than €760 at Macy’s department store and almost €210 at Abercrombie & Fitch on October 19, 2009.
Though the money is understood to have been later paid back, the use of the charity credit for personal purchases is strictly forbidden by ABI Ireland’s rules and came eight months after the Government had passed legislation to cut the wages of all public servants in a bid to rescue the economy.
An ongoing Irish Mail on Sunday investigation into the charity – which receives €10m of its €12m annual budget from the taxpayer-funded HSE – can also reveal that Mrs O’Connell used charity funds to buy a €900 painting for her husband after he stepped down as the charity’s chairman.
The board of ABI Ireland enjoyed Christmas gift vouchers and wine worth thousands of euro paid for from charity funds.
A one-week study trip to the US by Mrs O’Connell cost ABI Ireland €7,000.
Established in 2000, ABI Ireland provides services to over 1,200 HSE clients who live with an acquired brain injury.
More than 80% of its annual budget comes from public funds.
The €2,328 spend in New York on Mrs O’Connell’s ABI Ireland credit card is strictly forbidden by the charity’s rules.
Hospice paid €119k in training fees to company with connections to former chief executive
Audit also questions some credit card expenditure over five years on entertainment, including wine, restaurants and the pub
================================================
Rehab chief executive Mo Flynn1
Rehab chief executive Mo Flynn
Eilish O’Regan
Eilish O’Regan
March 12 2018 7:52 PM
Our Lady’s Hospice in Harold’s Cross in Dublin paid €119,000 in training fees to a company with connections to the then chief executive Mo Flynn, according to a HSE audit.
Ms Flynn, who is now chief executive of Rehab, has rejected any role in the contract and said she absented herself at the time the firm was chosen.
The audit also questions some credit card expenditure over five years on entertainment, including wine, restaurants and the pub.
In response a statement from the hospice said it acknowledged the review “showed that there was room for improvement in processes and management have fully taken this on board.”
It said: ”The training provider was selected by the senior management as it had experience working in the sector.
While the chief executive “absented herself from the procurement it agreed that aspects of the process and her abstention should have been recorded more clearly to show its methodologies.
“New practices have been put in places since this time as the organisation has continued to grow and develop. The service received was judged to be effective and professional.”
The audit also questioned credit card expenditure over five years of around €34,896.
The credit card records show that over five years €4,061 was spent on wine, €3015 on restaurants, €1,216 in pubs and €680 on the theatre.
Ms Flynn said while the audit notes the spending related to wine gift boxes bought for the board of directors each Christmas/New Year, it failed to point out this was an annual gift to people who are voluntary directors.
Hence, the wine gift boxes were an expense incurred by the Hospice to reflect the “incredible efforts” of, amongst others, its volunteers, she said.
The “pub” expenditure reflected in the credit card relates to a “Light Up A Life” annual commemoration, following which the Hospice volunteers were hosted in a local public house as a small gesture towards their volunteer work.
This is the only occasion where a credit card has been used in a “pub”, she added.
In the same vein, expenditure in relation to “restaurant” was incurred in respect of work-related events.
For example, a retirement dinner for a long serving volunteer, an annual pre-conference dinner for speakers and dinners for visiting external advisors in relation to a new educational institute concerning palliative care.
She said the theatre expenditure – which was a “one off” expenditure of €608.00 in 2011 – related to a Christmas pantomime to which staff and their children were invited.
In response to the audit chief Executive Officer of OLH & CS Audrey Houlihan, said:“Our primary and foremost concern at all times is the needs and care of our residents, patients and their families. I want to reassure all our supporters that we have taken the matters raised in the audits very seriously and are committed to continuous and on-going improvement.
“While the majority of the audits’ recommendations focus on historical matters during 2006 – 2015, we have worked systematically though the findings. They have demonstrated that the financial controls in place at that time were not sufficiently comprehensive. For that, the board and management offers an unreserved apology. Our current management and board of directors have fully taken this on-board and acted immediately to enhance our financial procedures to ensure best practice.
“Our Lady’s Hospice and Care Services took decisive action and implemented a robust range of new financial management processes and policies. 100pc of the recommendations in the Audits have been implemented. The high priority recommendations were immediately addressed and some were complete before the report was finalised.
now each other, they all cover for each other, and they all believe they are Above the Laws of this Cronyism Island. An Article written by Kevin Courtney this week in the Business section of the Irish Times, raises some interesting points, but sadly it is Bluffers Alley again.
In the last few years we have had some of the biggest robberies in the history of this State and I don’t mean the Northern Bank, I mean missing charities money, which I believe in the last two and half decades would amount to tens of millions. Courtney in his article refers to Paul Kelly, the former idiot and gangster who ran Console, alongside his wife and son. Kelly and the mob ran up credit card bills of £500,000 for their own personal gain and yet the Fraud Squad have not made an arrest. But then again, maybe they are too busy investigating themselves in relation to Templemore, the missing offshore accounts, money laundering, back-handers, and the golf accounts – all gone undercover. This in itself gives you an idea at the moment of the depth of corruption in Ireland.
Back to the charities: Oxfam covered up the sexual exploitation of certain members of staff in Haiti. Eamon Timmins has come out and said that he just has issued a new Governance Code that will help charities maintain the highest standards of probity and trustworthiness. If anybody believes this they are in Disneyland and I am shocked at Eamon Timmins that he would believe that by stating a new Dawn that all the gangsters within some of the charities would jump to attention. It is a no brainer Eamon. It won’t happen and in the last few months and with the highest of respect for Eamon Timmins, one senior idiot in an Irish charity said -Timmins we will play him like a puppet on a string, he may have regulations but nothing will be enforced and we all will carry on regardless. This is no offence to Eamon Timmins but he would need to get a handle on the type of people he is dealing with because some of them, and I mean this, are sociopaths and they believe that they literally own the charities and can use the monies any which the want. Timmins stated in the article that the reluctance of some charities to submit a full and unabridged financial accounts, under the current legislation, will soon end and in the next few years it will mean the end of abridged accounts. Now, what Timmins is saying here is, without being offensive, nothing will change in the next 7 – 10 years in the charity sector, they will just kick the can further down the road.
Timmins, after reading the article, made a statement that should be on Muppet Mastermind: he said “It is not the dishonesty or the corruption within the charity sector; it is the lack of communication. In most cases a charity’s biggest crime is not getting their message across clearly; they are so focused on their charitable purpose they forget how to engage with their charitable stakeholders.” I want to ask Eamon Timmins a question now directly: Are you saying that forget the robberies and missing monies and forget the Paul Kelly’s, and John of Gods, and Barbara O’Connell (ABI) and Mr Walsh, who is to be sentenced shortly – £1 million stolen from a charity for deaf children, and let’s just educate the charity chiefs to meet regularly and plan better. Now Eamon please correct me if I am wrong – are you stating that it is healthy if they all interact. In my view, more millions will go missing. The scandals are too big to ignore and people should be brought before the courts of this country. Kelly was well known for years as a complete gangster and yet he won the peoples’ Person of the Year in the Citywest hotel and he will not give the honour back. What an ego and arrogance and he is still allowed live in a house which belongs to the people of Ireland. The Carmichael centre, an umbrella support group for the Irish Charitable sector held its Good Governance awards November 15th 2018. It is beyond belief that people are receiving awards for doing an audit which is their duty in the first place.
Restoring faith in Irish charities will not happen because Timmins does not have the foresight nor the hindsight to look around him and see the daily robberies that are taking place and the victims are the Irish ordinary people and their goodwill. I state again that certain people in this country have become millionaires from charity money. Eamon Timmins did not make a statement in relation to Conlon who will be released from a Swiss prison after the weekend and £4.4 million in his own bank account of Irish charity monies. I also notice the silence of Spin the Wheel Cooper and I also, on behalf of the goodwill of the Irish people, would like to see a complete list of all the charity heads and their salaries, expenses and pension provisions. Right now I can name 47 charities where they are run by an entire family structures, including uncles and aunts and they are all drawing down salaries and free travel. I believe at this stage there are too many charities in this country and at least 300 of them should be struck off but again this will not happen because GREED, CORRUPTION, CRONYISM AND THE INNER CIRCLE WILL ALWAYS RULE AND THERE IS NO ENFORCEMENT TO STOP THEM AND PEOPLE ARE SLOWLY AWAKENING.
Where is the Perjury Act?
Fred
https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/excharity-director-jailed-for-stealing-more-than-1m-37650878.html
Another one caught, it is only a million, he will be home for Easter, until then Greg will play golf at the Bankers and Swindlers Nursing Home at Loughan House Nursing Retreat Cavan. Some dare call it a Jail?
not contactable?
REVEALED: The charities with CEOs still earning more than €100,000
Source: Jonathan Brady
A NUMBER OF Irish charity bosses are still earning well in excess of €100,000 a year, despite a series of controversies over executive pay in recent years, We can reveal.
Our survey of some of Ireland’s leading charities shows a significant variety in the levels of CEO pay, with some bosses taking no salary or benefits whatsoever and others earning almost €150,000 a year.
An analysis of the figures also reveals a wide range in senior management pay and fundraising efficiency, as well as a tight network of connections among charity executives.
We sent a questionnaire to 40 charities, requesting figures on executive pay and perks, fundraising costs, and spending on PR and administration, among other information.
One charity refused to answer any questions, one failed to answer any questions, two did not respond at all, two filled out the questionnaire but refused to reveal CEO salaries, and two charities provided salary ranges but not a specific number. (*Details can be found at the end of the article).
A spokesperson for Irish Charities for Tax Reform and Fundraising Ireland told us it strongly advises members to hold financial reporting to the highest standards, in order to “promote public confidence”.
However, they added: “Salary levels must be set at a sufficient level to guarantee that the highest standards are applied in governance, financial reporting and service delivery.”
With that in mind, here are the 10 highest and lowest-paid charity CEOs in Ireland, based on responses to our survey.
CEO pay and benefits
1. Fionnuala O’Donovan, Enable Ireland
Enable Ireland CEO Fionnuala O’Donovan
Source: Enable Ireland
€145,679 salary
7% employer contribution to pension
Oversees staff of 1,018 and revenue (all income before spending) of €46,215,554 in 2014
Charity provides education, respite and other services to 5,000 children and adults with disabilities in 40 centres across Ireland
Charity received almost €38 million from the HSE to provide services in 2014
Formerly worked at the National Council for the Blind, has been CEO of Enable Ireland for more than a decade
On the board of the Not-for-Profit Business Association; formerly on the board of the Cope Foundation and Children Direct
2. Dee Ahearn, Barretstown
Source: RollingNews.ie
€142,800 salary
€7,500 car allowance and vouched expenses
Oversees staff of 47 and revenue of €4,839,184 in 2014
Charity provides residential activity camp at Barretstown Castle, Co Kildare, and hospital outreach to children with cancer and other serious illnesses, serving 5,228 campers in 2015
Charity received €151,000 from HSE for services in 2014
CEO since 2010. Former chairperson of Make-A-Wish. Worked in PR and marketing for property developer Johnny Ronan’s Treasury Holdings, and US commercial real estate company CBRE.
3. Mo Flynn, Rehab
Rehab CEO Mo Flynn.
Source: Rehab
€140,000 salary
Use of a mid-sized, leased car
6-10% employer contribution to pension
Oversees staff of 3,534 and revenue of €159,180,000 in 2014
Charity provides health, social care, education and job training to 30,000 persons with disabilities in Ireland, Poland and the UK
In 2014, charity received: €59.6 million from the HSE; €26.8 million from education training boards; €4.6 million from other departments and state agencies, as well as funding from the UK government.
Former CEO of Our Lady’s Hospice in Harold’s Cross; president of the Irish Gerontological Society; on the board of CORU (the health and social care professionals regulator); formerly on the boards of HIQA and the Carers’ Association.
CEO since 2015. Took over from Angela Kerins after the scandal surrounding executive salaries and “top-ups” in 2014.
Four Rehab employees were paid €140,000-€170,000 in 2014.
4. Kathleen McLoughlin, Irish Wheelchair Association
€136,496 salary
Seconded from Department of Education as a Principal Officer, but paid at top end of Assistant Secretary pay scale
Keeps civil service pension, Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA) pension paid on difference between Principal Officer and Assistant Secretary salaries
€15,000 annual car allowance and fuel card
IWA makes an unspecified contribution to McLoughlin’s health insurance
Oversees 2,167 staff and revenue of €52,338,327 in 2014
Charity provides two million hours a year of assisted living, respite, youth and sports services to 20,000 persons with disabilities.
In 2014, charity received €39.4 million from the HSE and €6 million from the Department of Social Protection
Civil servant seconded to the IWA a decade ago. On the board of the Not-for-Profit Business Association.
5. John McCormack, Irish Cancer Society
Irish Cancer Society CEO John McCormack
Source: RollingNews.ie
€135,000 salary
16% employer contribution to pension
Company car – 2012 Toyota Avensis, €3,000 a year health insurance
Oversees 151 staff, revenue of €20,600,000 in 2014
Charity provides free cancer services, including palliative care, voluntary drivers, support and counselling to thousands each year, as well as €3 million in grants for cancer-related research
In 2014, charity received €420,000 in state grants
CEO of the Irish Cancer Society for almost three decades, since 1989.
On the board of Alcohol Action Ireland and Medical Research Charities. Formerly on the board of ASH Ireland (Action on Smoking and Health) and the Tobacco Free Research Institute.
Salary was €145,000 until January 2016, when McCormack took a €10,000 cut in response to the controversy over the decision to cut the society’s hardship fund.
6. Barry Dempsey, Irish Heart Foundation
Barry Dempsey, Irish Heart Foundation CEO
Source: RollingNews.ie
€134,000 salary
Oversees 47 staff, revenue of €5,075,093 in 2014
7. Senan Mullins, the Care Trust
€119,950 salary
Oversees 18 staff, revenue of €5,618,624 in 2014
8. Ashley Balbirnie, Focus Ireland
€115,000 salary
Oversees 327 staff, revenue of €19,596,418 in 2014
9. Fergus Finlay, Barnardos
Barnardos CEO Fergus Finlay
Source: RollingNews.ie
€114,651 salary
Oversees 365 staff, revenue of €22,040,000 in 2014
10. Ray Jordan, Gorta-Self Help Africa
€112,750 salary
Oversees 98 staff, revenue of €16,493,202
The four other charity bosses earning more than €100,000 were:
Chris White (National Council for the Blind of Ireland) – €112,000
Colette Kelleher (Alzheimer Society) – €110,000
Mary Moorehead (Mater Foundation) – €107,000
Padraig Mallon (Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind) – €103,572
And here are the lowest-paid charity CEOs in our survey:
1. Adi Roche, Chernobyl Children International
Chernobyl Children International CEO Adi Roche
Source: Julien Behal
No salary, no benefits, no pension, no perks
Oversees 10 staff, revenue of €2,335,519 in 2014
Charity provides healthcare and humanitarian aid to children in regions affected by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster (Belarus, Ukraine, parts of Russia), and arranges annual holidays to Irish homes for the children.
Received 77% of its revenue from public donations in 2014.
2. Maureen Forrest, Hope Foundation
No salary, no benefits, no pension, no perks
Oversees 13 staff and revenue of €1,527,771 in 2014
Charity provides funding and support to 60 Indian NGOs for health, nutrition, child protection and education programmes, principally in Calcutta
Founded the Hope Foundation in 1999, after working with GOAL in Somalia and Ethiopia during the famines in the 1980s.
3. Bríd Leahy, Manager of ASH Ireland (Action on Smoking and Health)
€36,000 salary
Only staff member, oversees revenue of €126,264 in 2014
An anti-tobacco advocacy and research group.
4. Jacinta Hastings, Bodywhys
€57,711 salary
Oversees five staff and revenue of €301,331 in 2014
The renamed Eating Disorders Association of Ireland provides support, services and information to people affected by eating disorders
Has a service agreement with the HSE, which pays all six employees’ salaries, a total of €196,211 in 2014
On the board of Mental Health Reform, and a former senior executive at Mental Health Ireland, until becoming CEO of Bodywhys in 2007.
5. Seán Moynihan, ALONE
ALONE CEO Seán Moynihan, launching the charity’s General Election advocacy campaign.
Source: RollingNews.ie
€72,000 salary
€350 VHI
Oversees 10 staff and revenue of €1,281,455 in 2014
Charity provides housing, support, befriending to hundreds of older people every week
Charity received €203,825 in state grants in 2014.
Spent seven years as director of services at Simon, before becoming CEO of ALONE in 2008.
6. Pauline McKeown, Coolmine Therapeutic Community
€75,000 salary
Oversees 51 staff and revenue of €3,079,347 in 2014.
7. Pat Clarke, Down Syndrome Ireland
€81,000 salary
Oversees 39 staff and revenue of €3,192,627 in 2014.
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8. Kerry Anthony, Depaul Ireland
Depaul Ireland CEO Kerry Anthony
Source: Depaul Ireland
€82,831 salary
In the Republic of Ireland, oversees 212 staff and revenue of €9,184,802. Including Northern Ireland, she oversees a total of 325 staff and revenue of €12,923,195 (based on Sterling exchange rate at 31 December 2014).
9. Andrew Kelly, ISPCA
€85,000 salary
Oversees 46 staff and revenue of €2,527,154.
10. Patrick Quinn, Head of National Office, Simon
€85,000 salary
Oversees six staff at the Simon Community’s head office, and revenue of €731,347 in 2014.
Simon is a network of regional communities. CEO of the Dublin Simon Community, Sam McGuinness, has a salary of €93,338.
Executive pay
Along with CEO salaries and benefits, pay at senior levels in Irish charities has raised concerns over the past few years.
Firstly, to put things in context, here are the 10 charities with the highest and lowest pay bills. These figures include salaries and pensions for all employees.
In terms of executive pay, St Patrick’s Mental Health Services comes out on top, with its seven-member senior management team earning a total of €1,622,000 in wages and pensions in 2014 – an average of €231,714 each.
In declining to provide salary ranges or specify CEO Paul Gilligan’s pay package, a spokesperson for St Patrick’s told us:
We operate in a highly competitive staffing environment and our salaries are set to enable us attract and retain the highest quality staff.
The information requested is commercially sensitive. In addition the Data Protection Acts…do not allow us to reveal staff member’s salaries under the context in which they have been requested.
Salaries can legally be revealed, however, if an employee gives their consent. TheJournal.ie asked whether Gilligan had refused to give consent for his salary to be disclosed, but we did not receive a response.
St Patrick’s was one of two charities (Bon Secours was the other) which failed to break down the salaries of employees earning more than €70,000, in bands of €10,000, a convention which is regarded as best practice for charities.
So in calculating who paid the most to their highest-salaried staff, we have to exclude St Patrick’s and Bon Secours.
As you can see, the Rehab Group, which has 3,535 employees (the most of any charity in the survey) paid out €6.2 million in salaries alone to those on more than €70,000 a year, in 2014.
However, there were also 70 employees paid above that level (the highest of any charity), so Rehab’s average salary above €70,000 falls below the €90,001 earned by the highest-paid staff at St Michael’s House.
It’s important to note that these are median figures, based on salary ranges provided by charities in response to our survey, or in their most recent annual reports.
So the actual salary costs and averages could be as high or low as €6.6 million or €5.9 million in total in the case of Rehab, and €84,600 or €94,400 on average, in the case of St Michael’s House.
Some charities are bigger than others, and so pay more people above €70,000.
So to make sure we’re being fair, we’ve adjusted for the size of the charities, and calculated salaries above €70,000 as a proportion of all salaries, and all staff, for the five biggest spenders.
As you can see, Enable Ireland devotes the biggest chunk of its overall salary bill to those on more than €70,000 – paying a median figure of €3.4 million (out of €29.8 million) to 41 employees (out of 647).
Out of all 40 charities we surveyed, these are the ones with the highest proportion of employees paid above €70,000.
The Care Trust: 26.3% (five out of 19 employees)
Irish Heart Foundation: 8.3% (four out of 48 employees)
Gorta-Self Help Africa: 8% (eight out of 99 employees)
Irish Cancer Society: 7.9% (12 out of 152 employees)
GOAL: 6.6% (13 out of 198 employees)
There were some instances of smaller organisations where only one employee was paid above €70,000, but amid a staff of less than 15, this gave a skewed picture of executive pay in those charities, so we excluded them from the list above.
Fundraising
Source: Shutterstock
For charities without Section 38 and Section 39 service agreements with the HSE, or without state grants, fundraising can be essential to their survival.
Amid recession and a series of scandals in recent years, it has been falling, pretty much across the board.
The Wheel, a support organisation representing 1,250 charities, told us that 39% of groups that accept money from the public had seen a drop in donations in the last year, and 18% had made at least some staff redundant.
So charities (particularly smaller ones) are forced to be even more efficient and strategic than usual in soliciting contributions from the Irish public.
Each organisation has unique circumstances, but we can get some sense of how cost-effective a charity is in using its resources to acquire more resources.
We’ve calculated return on investment (money raised – money spent as a factor of money spent), and here are the most effective fundraisers we surveyed, based on 2014 figures, the most recent available.
Chernobyl Children International: Spent €29,252, took in €2,335,519. ROI: 78.8. The charity got €167,080 worth of free media, PR and advertising in 2014
Down Syndrome Ireland: Spent €191,725, took in €2,374,629. ROI: 11.4
Simon: Spent €57,230, took in €580,063. ROI: 9.1
Bóthar: Spent €534,352, took in €5,089,753. ROI: 8.5
The Peter McVerry Trust: Spent €410,417, took in €3,814,046. ROI: 6.7
Executive Network
Another feature of Irish charities to emerge from our analysis was the close network of connections between them.
Based on publicly available work histories and records from the Companies Registration Office, we found that just 10 out of 40 charity CEOs had not previously served on the board of another charity, or held a senior position in one.
And of the 30 CEOs with previous charity experience as directors or CEOs, 10 of them had that experience with at least one of the other groups in our survey.
Out of the 40 charities we surveyed, 17 had a connection with another inside that network, via their CEO.
You can see what that web of executive connections looks like, in the chart above.
*Survey notes:
Bon Secours Health System – Ireland’s largest private hospital group and a registered charity – refused to answer any questions.
The Cope Foundation and Spinal Injuries Ireland did not respond, but we were able to glean some information from their most recent annual reports.
St Michael’s House did not fill out the questionnaire, but cited documents which provided some information. They did not disclose the salary of acting CEO David Dunne.
Two charities filled out the questionnaire but declined to provide the CEO’s salary – Cheeverstown House and St Patrick’s Mental Health Services, the country’s largest private mental health provider and a registered charity.
Cork-based charity Wellsprings, which provides support for young women transitioning out of state care, told us that their manager Audrey Jeffery is paid under €70,000, but declined to give a specific number.
Make-A-Wish told us that CEO Susan O’Dwyer is on a salary of €90,000-€100,000, but declined to give a specific number.
Read: Nonprofits are showing their books to reassure donors>
Read: Angry parents take to our source after Irish Cancer Society cuts off hardship fund>
ver asked if Terry Prone have access to Government information and also Cabinet meetings. It is only a question because Cabinet meetings were always sealed with integrity and confidentiality. Fitzgerald stated that there is only a minor problem in the Charity sector (sometimes called Third Sector) but then again as Justice Minister she said there is no problem in the Gardai and she had her utmost faith in O’Sullivan and Garda HQ. We Maurice McCabe spun that on its head and Fitzgerald is now contemplating the Gravy Train to Europe, as an MEP. When will the people of Ireland stand up and get rid of these Clowns. Just read below and then I will continue on from there.
=======================================
Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald has said she wants to see an end to the cycle of scandals in the charity sector.
She said the public must have confidence donations are managed correctly at all times and that “anything less is a betrayal of the good will of so many people”.
Ms Fitzgerald was speaking at the launch of Charities Institute Ireland (CII), a new organisation whose aim is to promote best practice and restore public trust in the sector.
The Justice Minister said the issue of charities has fallen out of the headlines, but there was a period when it was “all we talked about”.
During the summer, suicide charity Console was mired in controversy as questions arose over the governance of funds. It led to the resignation of founder and chief executive Paul Kelly.
Ms Fitzgerald said that people have “become accustomed to talking about scandals in the voluntary sector” and then forget about it until the next issue arises.
“What I want to see is an end to that cycle,” she added.
The Justice Department is determined to ensure that the Charities Regulatory Authority has the necessary resources to carry out its oversight roles, Ms Fitzgerald said.
She said that the work of CII will support the Regulatory Authority. The new organisation represents more than 180 charities, including the St Vincent de Paul and the Irish Cancer Society.
“The work of all of your organisations contributes so much to the public good,” she said at the launch.
She said there has been few scandals when the overall number of organisations is considered but that effective regulation is important to ensure such controversies don’t arise in future.
CII chief executive Lucy Masterson said charities face a challenge from an increasing demand on their services combined with pressure on public donations.
She added that the new regulatory requirements were actively sought by charities.
“Now that these provisions are being rolled out we are confident questions of public trust can be quickly addressed and confidence restored,” she said.
===========================
Eamon Timmins, Irish Charities Regulator, is a decent human being and nobody should question his integrity and honesty but sadly he is out of his depth in relation to the Vultures in the Charity sector. We have them in the banking sector and the repossession of family homes but don’t forget they are a different breed to our own vultures in the Charity sector.
In the last three decades according to research and sources with the amount of charities registered and unregistered in Ireland today, I and others, would put an estimated figure that there is a possibility of £200 million cash gone missing and some people are living the lives of pure luxury, world travel, owning yachts and I know two people who bought a hotel in France on charity money. I wrote on Peter Conlon before Christmas and his release from the Swiss prison, after millions on money vanished, from a number of charities he was in charge of.
Conlon was head of a company called Pembroke Dynamic which previously traded as Ammado Internet Services. It was an online donation service which allowed people to give money to charities while the company received 5% fee. As I am writing this the High Court has granted Myles Kirby who is the liquidator to freeze all Conlon’s assets, including his bank accounts and to serve documents to Conlon through Conlon’s solicitor on the orders of the High Court and Judge Leonie Reynolds. Now the problem is that Conlon, a well known businessman, with serious links to Enterprise Ireland and other Agencies, left the Swiss prison before Christmas, after serving 10 months, he returned to Dublin airport to a welcome of family and friends, and then onto a hotel where they had a party and a welcome for the Charity Fugitive. Now it appears that Conlon has VANISHED and nobody seems to know where to? This creates a problem for the High Court; it certainly creates a problem for the Charity regulator and it certainly begs the question why Conlon was not arrested at the airport by the serious Fraud Squad. Surely if the police in Switzerland could charge Conlon and contain him in a Swiss prison for 10 months and the evidence from Ireland is crystal clear that millions are gone, well then someone somewhere or people are doing a superb job in yet another Charity funds heist.
MR KIRBY, THE LIQUIDATOR, STATED THAT CONLON IS GUILTY OF VERY SERIOUS MISCONDUCT AS COMPANY FUNDS WHICH MEANS ALSO CHARITY FUNDS WERE USED FOR PERSONAL EXPENDITURE. IN LAW THIS MEANS DECEPTION AND FRAUD. NOW WHERE DO THE AUTHORITIES GO FROM HERE?
I will close by saying we are not dealing with woman who took the packet of pringles from Tesco (free advertising for them) who gets 4 months in prison. We are dealing with an entitled class individual from Dublin 4 who seems to be untouchable and ABOVE THE LAW. Also the silence of the Charity Chiefs here is offensive and I will now use the word properly unlike former Garda Commissioner Garda Callinan “DISGUSTING”.
Conlon flew into Dublin, received a heroes welcome, had a party, enjoyed his Christmas turkey and has vanished. I will let the people decide what to make of the above.
Fred:
https://www.thejournal.ie/irish-charities-4145144-Jul2018/
The liquidator of the charities fundraising platform business (Pembroke Dynamics) cannot proceed with an action against its Chief Executive, Peter Conlon, because they don’t know where he is or how to find him. Conlon it appears has done a “Lord Lucan”; he is gone into the midst of intrigue, leaving Judge Leonie Reynolds and her wig in an even greater fog. Now, how could this Idiot or may I say cute whore vanish into thin air? Maybe Eamon Timmins, Irish Charities Regulator, could give a comment on this (he that is a most decent man but sadly lacks to examine how deep the fraud and deception is in our Charity Sector.
Sources tell me that the Charity Fugitive Conlon who flew in before Christmas from a luxury Swiss prison arrived at Dublin Airport and was welcomed by nearly 30 of his family and followers. He was taken to an up market hotel and the party went on all night. £6-8 million is missing in this Charities latest scandal. Conlon had I presume a lovely Christmas in Dublin 4 but now has been allowed to escape to an unknown destination in Holland. Even his own legal team have no idea of the exact location. My question is: Where are the missing millions and where is Spin the Wheel, Ivan the Copper?
Three people have appeared before the Irish courts in the last six weeks. If you combine their charges it comes to 3 euros 80 cents yet each of them were charged with stealing a chocolate bar and a packet of pringles. Now we will not mention Simple Simon Said and the new hospital today. We will stay with the Charity Scandals:-
HOW COULD CONLON COME BACK TO THE BANANA REPUBLIC, SPEND CHRISTMAS AND LIVE LIKE A KING AND THEN ELOPE TO HOLLAND AND TELL THE IRISH HIGH COURT THAT HE IS TOO UNWELL TO ATTEND ANY HIGH COURT HEARINGS?
I have said it before and I will say it again: We have a two tier health system; and we certainly have a two tier Justice system. If you are not in the Club – you are definitely in a prison van. Read the above link. Over £13 billion each year is given to a shower of chancers who live the high life on the backs of the goodwill of Irish people. When does this stop?
Conlon is gone and I have no doubt he knows where the missing millions are. As for Lord Lucan – well I have no idea!
Fred
heir office for appropriate attention
and direct reply.
Yours sincerely,
________________
Conor Cleary
Private Secretary to the
Minister for Justice and EqualityFrom: “Fred Bassett”
Millions are gone missing here, so it does not concern the Minister for Justice, the mind Boggles. Dont dare steal a packet of Pringles, Wow, 4 months in Prison. Do we have any Laws in this country for the Established classes? Conlon fled to Holland, High Court want him here, but Flanagan says, No, this alleged Charity Robbery is not in his Portfolio, just pass it on to the Charities Regulator?
Who really at present runs this Corrupt little country?
Fred
Sean, I agree with you. Conlon planned his return for the Festive Season and I am thinking now that he had help in getting out of the country to go to Holland and to avoid the High Court in Ireland. I was only informed in the last few days that Eamon Timmins, has left his role, as Chief Executive at the Irish Charities Regulator. I am not too sure at the moment, who is on their Board. One name crops up and that is Fergus Finlay and another is Paddy Hopkins, former Enterprise Ireland. Now this is where it is going to get very interesting because the word that comes to mind now – is deep rooted cronyism. The Old Boy’s Club brigade and Conlon appears to be part of same. You could go as far as saying that in Ireland now when millions go missing, not a packet of Pringles in Tesco, these people are called THE UNTOUCHABLES.
To be continued
Fred
Approve Bin | Mark as Spam
ess of £1.5 million. He walks around with not a care in the world. Where is the Fraud Bureau or for that matter the CAB?
Barbara O’Connell, Acquired Brain Injury, flies to New York, uses the charity card and buys her husband a beautiful painting from Macy’s; she returns home to Ireland, then claims it was an oversight and when we were told she was standing down; this was incorrect. Barbara is still there plus she is on the Board of Major Charities in Ireland. To be more blunt; she was in fact rewarded for her misappropriation of money on the ABI credit card. Could somebody explain this to me?
John of Gods: Well we all know the names and these people shared between them £1.4 million of rental money that did not belong to them. This is called Grand Larceny, Theft and Fraud – And again nothing has been done in relation to the rogues within the Gods. Again I ask Why?
Irish Red Cross: Again scandal, monies missing, and again nothing happens. Can anybody see a trend here or for that matter a pattern forming?
A Castleknock gentleman is in prison right now for stealing over £1 million from children who are deaf and with other disabilities. At least he was caught and sent to prison. However there are so many out there in charities who seem to be untouchable.
Peter Conlon takes the stage here. He is now hiding in Holland after a Christmas break at home in Dublin 4. Conlon has in his possession, well let’s put it a different way, the charities he was overseeing are missing £6.5 million; he spent 9 months in a Swiss prison, flew back to Dublin on release, he was met by his mob of loyal followers and they partied as if it was some kind of celebration of the return of the Charity Son. Why was Conlon not arrested? Why has nobody in the Charity sector made a statement to An Gardai? It is alarming and yet our journalists are like the Muppet Show; they are everywhere and nowhere. Just reading the Phoenix yesterday: the battle of the Giants. Fionn Sheahan versus Dearbhail McDonald. Our journalists who should be writing are too busy at each other’s throats. Why? We will have to wait and see.
To conclude: Four cases have been in our courts in the last three weeks. Three gentlemen were up on charges of stealing – no wait for this – the first one: it was a bar of chocolate at a shop in Ballymun, value £1.20; the second gentleman was up for stealing a Bounty bar to the value of whatever and the third was hungry and he stole a packet of wine gums. My God our cops are busy with serious crimes and the last woman in Blanchardstown stole a packet of Pringles. Now, who will argue with me, not alone do we have a two tier health system BUT WE ALSO HAVE A TWO TIER JUSTICE SYSTEM.
I would love some feedback on this?
Fred
8 hours that Peter Conlon is suffering PTSD (Post traumatic stress disorder) but the High Court Judge here is not buying the nonsense, she wants him back from Holland and appearing before the High Court as soon as possible. The problem is that Conlon, it is alleged, has no intention of returning. Ammado, according to my sources, is still trading and if you check LinkedIn, Conlon is still advertising his expertise and networking.
WHERE IS THE MISSING £6.5 MILLION? HOPEFULLY IT IS NOT PUMPED INTO HIS COMPANY.
To be continued.
Fred
THEFT CASE
Travel agent who used ‘Father Ted’ defence has conviction for stealing money from Lapland charity upheld after appeal
John Murphy, 69, also known as Con Murphy, had pleaded not guilty to four counts of theft between June and July 2010 totalling €18,643
By Ruaidhri Giblin
1st March 2019, 3:49 pm
Updated: 1st March 2019, 3:49 pm
A TRAVEL agent who tried to use a “Father Ted” defence against charges of stealing money from a charity has lost his appeal against his conviction for theft.
John Murphy, 69, also known as Con Murphy, had pleaded not guilty to four counts of theft from The Children to Lapland Appeal between June and July 2010 totalling €18,643.
John Murphy pictured outside the court
Courtpix
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John Murphy pictured outside the court
Murphy, of Church Road, in Killiney, had founded the charity in 1987.
It raised money from donations to bring terminally ill children on trips to see Santa Claus in Lapland.
Murphy also operated United Travel, a travel agent based in Stillorgan, in Dublin, before it went out of business in 2012.
His defence at trial was that the charity owed him money and it was normal for monies to travel back and forth between the accounts.
The Courts of Criminal Justice in Dublin
Alamy
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The Courts of Criminal Justice in Dublin
The prosecution characterised his position as ‘the Father Ted defence’.
“To quote Dermot Morgan, they’re trying to say ‘the money was simply resting in my account,” Garrett McCormack, for the DPP, contended.
Murphy was found guilty by a jury at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court after 42 minutes of deliberations and he was subsequently given a wholly suspended three-year sentence by Judge Pat McCartan on March 16, 2016.
The Court of Appeal upheld his conviction today.
Giving judgment in the three-judge court, Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy said the evidence that Murphy held a genuine belief that he was entitled to the money was “thin”.
The evidence went no further than an agreement by the prosecuting garda that Murphy’s personal bank account was used on occasion to pay wages and expenses of United Travel.
She said there was no reference to a belief on Murphy’s part that he was entitled to the funds of the charity, during his Garda interviews.
Therefore, there was no evidence sufficient to put in issue the question of honest belief.