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Updated 11.25pm
THE OUTGOING CHIEF executive of the Central Remedial Clinic Brian Conlan has said that he will not be appearing before the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee.
CRC executives are due to speak before the PAC on Wednesday to explain how senior staff had been paid salary top-ups from funds raised by a registered charity.
This evening, however, a spokesperson for Conlan confirmed that he will not be attending the meeting as he has now resigned. “He is no longer an officer of the CRC having resigned from his post. He has no information that is not known by the remaining officers and directors of the CRC,” said the spokesperson.
Conlan also said that his replacement should come from outside the current CRC staff pool.
Having tendered his resignation with immediate effect today, Conlan said in a statement this evening that “it is in the best interests of the CRC’s clients and staff that the new chief executive should not have any association with legacy matters at the CRC.
Conlan said the wants the clinic to “start afresh with a clean slate” after he resigned as a result of the ongoing top-ups controversy.
The chief executive, who has only held his position since the summer, has said that he was abroad when the issue of top-up payments in the charity came to light but resigned within 24 hours of returning to Ireland.
Conlan’s salary was in line with HSE guidelines but his predecessor Paul Kiely had received a top-up of €135,000 on top of a basic salary of €116,000.
Conlan says that he was offered the role as chief executive following a selection process conducted by the board of the CRC with assistance from recruitment consultants.
Earlier today, a number of politicians including Independent Shane Ross TD and Labour TD Aodhán Ó Ríordáin TD had argued that Conlan’s replacement should be made by way of a transparent process open to both internal and external candidates.
Conlan’s comments this evening not only seem to echo these calls but hint that the eventual appointment should be an external candidate.
“I believe that there should be full transparency within the charitable sector with regard to how all funds raised, both private and public, are spent and that all executive remuneration should be within HSE guidelines, ” said Conlan.
I hope that the CRC will now take the opportunity to start afresh with a clean slate so that the excellent service provided by its dedicated staff can continue to be made available to its’ clients who rely on it and who should not be the innocent victims of any fallout.
Conlan’s decision not to attend the PAC committee comes after politicians such as Ross and Ó Ríordáin had called on the CRC board to clarify issues surrounding the top-up controversy.
Sinn Féin TD Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin has called for a full independent investigation into the top-up scandal.
“The hearings by the PAC are important and will add to the knowledge base. It is essential therefore that Mr Conlan, as well as his predecessor and other relevant personnel, fully co-operate with the Committee’s work in the time ahead,” he said.
Originally posted at 6.20pm
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So Patrick kiely received around 240k to run a clinic? The president of the USA doesn’t earn that much. It’s madness and it has to stop. Right across the board and fast.
Fergal
I agree with you but fat chance – heard a hospital consultant on recently with George Hook who to my dismay gave him a soft interview. These guys are on €300K + private patients. The usual mantra – pay peanuts get monkeys, cannot fill vacancies nobody suitable trained, any more cuts to salaries and they will all be on flights to God knows where.
This guy that has resigned was he not on the Board of the CRC before he was appointed CEO.
There’s a big difference between the qualification , knowledge, and skill of a hospital consultant and a clinic manager. How much do you think hospital consultants should earn? 30, 000?
Not the point. If you or I were to get this job, we wouldn’t get that pay. Because, we are not one of the old boy crony club
Dont hold your breath
And he still can ‘advise’ about who should replace him
There is a big difference between 300 k and 30k so why suggest such a figure? How about what an average German consultant might earn ??
what new in this corrupt country
Agree
Yes they said tonight that he was on the board
The current salary on offer for hospital consultants is 106k, at the peak of the boom it was approx 160-180. No idea where the 300k came from but as they say don’t let facts get in the way of a good argument.
Average German consultants get a whole lot more than in Ireland
how many more top ups are people working in all these charites getting.???? it has put a bad taste in my mouth.
It’s all to do with “a safe pair of hands”. That’s who get appointed to State boards, quangos and all the other machinations of State so that all the greed, incompetence and cronyism stays within the same circle. Kenny promised a new politics but he and his cronies have proved, if anything, worse than anything that went before ( bring on the FG Red Thumbs).
Why? You’re absolutely spot on
Aherns posioned legacy lives on
The entire board of the CRC were appointed by Fianna Fáil
fcuk the lot of them.Some balls on them.Baseball bat time as far as im concerned..What’s Enda going to do??.Scratch his balls and talk shite??
I’m never giving to a charity again in this country. All I’ve suspected for years has come to fruition.
Well, in Fairness Rodrigo, rather than not give anything why not seek out local small charities instead.
I’ll never give to a major charity in Ireland again either, nor have in in almost 10 years as a result of a bad experience with Concern. But I give a tenner a month instead to a small home run animal welfare charity.
Charities have been found out. Let’s see how much every member of staff in all charities are paid before we contribute to any charity again.
Do not tar all charities with the same brush.
I second that Una
Not all charities do this, it is unfair to tar them all with the same brush.
The LauraLynn Children’s Hospice is a worthy charity, as are many others. Read their statement on top-ups.
http://www.lauralynn.ie/blog/
That is a profoundly ignorant comment Una, as if all charities were identical. As far as I am aware the CRC is not even a charity in itself, it’s a medical and educational organisation that relies on a mix of state,philanthropic and charitable funding. The fact that its board members – who are mostly political appointees – have chosen to misappropriate charitable moneys given to their organisation is no reflection on Ireland’s charitable sector whatsoever. These people are not charity workers and their actions should not be seized upon to build a case against those who are. I worked for a small Dublin charity for two years part time, I earned €150 for two days a week and gave between one and three days of my time per week for free (working around my other flexible job). Our board members worked on an entirely voluntary basis, our director – who was our only full time staff member and who had decades worth of international experience – drew down a very modest salary for her work. We published accounts and were subject to detailed audits by the state body that provided the bulk of our funding. Perhaps you shouldn’t make such offensive comments about a sector of hard working people that you know nothing about .
Well said merry Christmas. Read also about the friends if st Luke’s. No top ups there either!
The full truth of the matter must be very bad if the current guy is exiting stage left, he is clearly putting a big distance between himself and what looks like a story that needs to be fully investigated to the root
So he’s refusing the pension, the golden handshake and the top-up. LOL.
He didn’t get a top up
I was ready to vilify this guy like everyone else, but since I actually read the article it sounds like he did nothing wrong.
Bertie Ahern and his very loyal pal and fixer Paul Kiely will be snigggering into their pints
If you read it you will see he didn’t have any top up payment it was his predecessor he was only employed recently. His salary was in line with guidelines and it was obvious from his statement he wanted to change things but no chance with the old guard and political appointments made it impossible. It is time to have a CEO who comes from a clinical background who runs the place for the service users not the business and political classes who make up the boards of these places. Hire someone who knows what services are needed for clients and families. By the way these service should not be known as charities but “not for profit organisations” as these kind of clinical services should be a right not charity.
Absolute bullsh1t. He had an opportunity to clear the whole lot of them out and name names. Running away does him or us no good.
Since when did a CEO have the power to fire the board? It’s the other way round. The names are all in the public domain.
And everyone should listen to what this disgraced CEO thinks is the right thing to do, why?
He probably has one of his cronies lined up for the role.
I wonder where he will pop up next… Probably head up the HSE, he sounds qualified.
Where’s seanieryan? He’s usually good at defending the absolute un-defendable
Perhaps this resignation was helped along by the publication of an article in the IT last Friday by the founder of Jack and Jill, calling for the resignations of those involved with CRC.
Perhaps it has no relevance or significance, it’s just supposition on my behalf.
So i take it he is giving d top up back…..????
It’s not the same person
If you bothered to read the article you would see he never took one.
So he’s resigning because… he did nothing wrong.
sinead, You are a beautiful lady-a unbelievable personality with a good head on your shoulders-A fantastic smile-if the world could smile like you or charm like me the world would be a better plaice-I want you to get a lovely man for yourself get married and have lovely kids and you are happy -you deserve nothing less-I hope he have some of my good values which will be shown to you-I hope you take some of my advice I have given to you in the past-some good and some with a big question-if you any advice for me I will always listen to you.
I’d like to see his contract – Guaranteed he is gone out the gap with a lump sum, even if he did resign.
well that is that i am not giving any more donations to any charity’s they are all corrupt, even mother Theresa charity is missing € 500 millions it has vanished into thin air, this is the last straw.
Think be for you contribute in future..
Arrogance of these people!
Typical Irish. Walk away laughing rubbing his hands with glee. What plum job has he landed while he was away? Where do they learn this behaviour? I hope hell is hot enough to melt their brassy necks.
The C E O. Should only be concerned with providing a service to users
of his service .
I do not understand why their is not an independent audit of all national
collections .That all money is used for what the Permit was granted for .
When their is a Question of misappropriation ( top up ) of money it should
be handed over to Gardai for investigation .
Not a talking shop of party hacks of Fine Gael ,Labour/IRA,FiannaFail,Sinn Fain.
As one of them will have put the boards in position so they will find no one responsible .
When the revolution comes, do you think we should allow prisoners a choice of cells?
I am unusual person-because I am not of the modern man today that wants only one thing with a woman and it is totally wrong-I am a very sincere person-good hearted with a big soul-extremely respectful person to the opposite sex-extremely passionate person but only to the right person otherwise i have no interest-extremely emotional person-extremely openiness person extremely blunt person even though it gets me into trouble at times and it did with us-I am not perfect by any means-but i will listen-say sorry and understand the opposite sex-but I am a good person-and I have so much love to give -I am a very loyal person with many talents to offer and educated as well-
i dont understand chasing men
Has Kenneth resurfaced using his alter ego? I think he has.
You don’t understand grammar either!
You’re a bit of a twonk ‘Damien’. Try the personals in the farmers journal.
Check your spellings
Guilty. If not why not defend yourself. No scapegoats required. Get rid of them all.
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