Former CRC chief pays back extra salary

The former chief executive of the scandal-hit Central Remedial Clinic (CRC) has repaid the extra salary he received which was in excess of HSE guidelines.

Brian Conlon, who quit on Monday, was appointed in July on a salary of €125,000, over €40,000 above HSE guidelines. He was paid at that level until Oct 1 when he asked the CRC board to lower his pay to €83,252 — the amount approved by the HSE.

Last night, a spokesman for Mr Conlon confirmed to the Irish Examiner that Mr Conlon had written a cheque yesterday to the HSE for the net difference for the three months.

He said after taking up the post in July Mr Conlon became aware that the HSE had taken issue with the CRC on his salary as it was way above the pay scale for a CEO of an institution the size of the clinic.

The spokesman said no charity funding was used to pay Mr Conlon whose salary was entirely from the €16m public funding the CRC gets from the HSE.

TDs are set to grill board members on the top-up salaries of nine staff today.

Meanwhile, the head of the charity Bóthar revealed his annual salary is €88,000. It emerged after a Morning Ireland debate about the hit charities are taking as a result of public anger at top-ups to charity bosses.

Peter Ireton said the livestock-based NGO Bóthar operations may have to be cut in 2014 due to controversy, and said Christmas appeal donations are down 50% compared with 2012.