Probe focuses on spending of CUH charity

THE HSE investigation into the Cork University Hospital (CUH) Foundation charity is specifically examining how donated money was spent and whether expenditure was subject to any checks, controls or guidelines.

Speaking after the Irish Examiner revealed that the group – set up in 2006 to oversee all donations to CUH and Cork University Maternity Hospital – has been the subject of an internal audit for more than a year, the HSE confirmed the focus of the inquiry.

HSE head of communications Paul Connors said the audit is specifically examining “financial issues” at the charity.

Central to this is €365,000 on “consultancy fees” in 2008 which are understood to involve four separate payments towards an A&E admissions report.

It is not known whether this report was tendered for, whether its terms of reference were published, or if it had previously received taxpayer funds outside of the foundation.

In 2008, the foundation’s financial annual account stated cash levels dwindled from €230,693 in December 2007 to nothing just 12 months later.

The same document, the latest available and only filed with the Companies Registration Office in April 2010, shows administrative expenses jumped from €3,428 to €445,302 during this timeframe.

This included €365,000 in “consultancy fees” and €56,512 in “professional fees”.

The main focus of the internal HSE audit is whether these transactions followed appropriate controls, protocols and guidelines for how donated money is used by the foundation’s directors.

The details of the audit emerged as the Dáil public accounts committee’s (PAC) chairman, Fine Gael TD Bernard Allen, said he will be raising the issue at the group’s next meeting tomorrow.

Mr Allen said he will ask the PAC for their views on financial matters at the foundation, with the possible result of the issue being sent to the Comptroller and Auditor General & for consideration.

He said he received correspondence “in recent days” that will form the basis of what he will ask the committee to discuss.

A HSE spokesperson said all donations to the charity “have been honoured”.

However, she could not confirm whether this meant the original money provided by donors had been spent as requested or whether an equal amount of money had been found from other resources.

A request for an interview with CUH chief executive Tony McNamara, who was the foundation’s secretary and one of its two directors in 2008, was turned down by the HSE yesterday.