Red Cross admits vice-chairman was signatory on undisclosed bank account

THE Irish Red Cross has admitted its vice-chairman was one of two signatories at the centre of a controversy surrounding an undisclosed bank account containing €160,000 in donations.

The charity has also defended spending about €140,000 in legal fees in a bid to identify a whistleblower who had posted a blog critical of the IRC’s financial governance.

The Dáil Public Accounts Committee heard yesterday that the IRC’s board and head office were, for three years, unaware of 49 accounts containing a total of €214,000 arising out of the IRC’s 2005 tsunami appeal.