Ex-chief signs off on award for Rehab

A European prize for excellence awarded to a division of the Rehab Group was signed by the group’s former CEO, who denies any conflict of interest.

Frank Flannery, Fine Gael director of organisation and strategy, signed a certificate of excellence for the National Learning Network, the training and education arm of the Rehab Group.

Mr Flannery was CEO of the Rehab Group for 25 years, and is a current board member of both the Rehab Group and the NLN.

The NLN is the first organisation in Ireland to be awarded the European Quality in Social Services Excellence Award, and the first in Europe to receive it for all of its services.

The EQUASS awards are an initiative of the European Platform for Rehabilitation, an umbrella body that assists member organisations achieve best practice in delivery of services to those with a disability.

Mr Flannery is a member of the board of directors of the EPR and Angela Kerins, current CEO of the Rehab Group, is president of the EPR board.

When asked if he saw any conflict of interest in signing an award made to an organisation he previously led, and of which he is currently a director, Mr Flannery replied: “Not at all.”

He said the EQUASS system was “very transparent in that regard”.

Mr Flannery said it was “not unknown in life generally and in the way boards operate” that if directors had a concern that their involvement in a decision could result in a conflict of interest, they could “declare their interest” and “absent themselves from that decision”.

Asked if he had absented himself in this case, Mr Flannery replied: “Absolutely”. He said he had nothing to do with the auditing process, which he said was rigorous and “independent of the people being audited”.

Asked why his signature had appeared on the certificate of excellence presented to the NLN, Mr Flannery said that, as chair of the management committee for EQUASS, it was a tradition.

“I sign all the certs. It’s just the way it is. I sign hundreds,” he said.

The EQUASS certification programmes are based on 10 principles for quality, a widely approved set of European principles for quality which includes the perspectives of Europe’s main stakeholders in the social sector.

The EQUASS Excellence certification programme requires a social service provider to carry out a self-evaluation, which is reviewed by two auditors. All EQUASS Excellence applicants that achieve above-average scores are offered a site visit. If the site visit confirms a score of 65 points or more, the applicant is nominated for the certification.

Any provider that can demonstrate tangible achievements, three years of trends, and continuous improvement on all 10 principles is awarded for a three-year period. The certificate awarded to the NLN is for the period Oct 20, 2011, to Oct 20, 2014.