Rehab will wait a month to reveal CEO pay
However the company is still resisting calls from senior Government ministers to hold the meeting sooner, amid claims that every day the salary stand-off dispute continues, enormous damage is being done to charities all over the country.
When contacted by the Irish Examiner, many of the country’s leading charities said donations had fallen by as much as 40% following the top-up revelations at CRC and questions about the running of Rehab’s lottery.
The Simon Community also said it was fearful about the level of service it would be able to offer its clients throughout the year.
A source close the beleaguered board of Rehab, which received more than €120m in public funding between 2010 and 2012, said the CEO’s “complete package” will be revealed immediately after the Feb 17 meeting.
“The board will disclose Angela Kerins’ full salary and by that I mean the complete package. It will be full and comprehensive and will also demonstrate how her salary is pegged against similar positions in other companies,” the source said.
However charities and politicians have insisted they cannot wait that long and urged Rehab to disclose Ms Kerins salary which amounted to €234,000 in 2011, as soon as possible.
“I think there is an urgency in this area to make sure that public confidence is upheld. I think an earlier disclosure would be desirable,” said Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Minister Richard Bruton.
Likewise, Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney said the sooner the story came to an end the better but he said he was uncomfortable with the “witch hunt” approach to Ms Kerins’ salary.
Deirdre Garvey of The Wheel group, which represents more than 900 charities, also heaped pressure on Rehab to release the details sooner because of the damage it was causing.
“Every day that goes by without clarity on the issue is damaging charities in general who have nothing to do with this so we are urging the directors of Rehab to consider having a speedier resolution of this,” she said.
It was the strong choice of words by Taoiseach Enda Kenny who called for Rehab to end the “nauseating spectacle” surrounding the finances of Irish charities that prompted Rehab chairman, Brian Kerr, to announce the special meeting “in the public interest”.
Despite calls from the media to reveal Ms Kerins’ annual pay Mr Kerr said Rehab had never received a formal request from any agency to do so.
Yesterday the HSE confirmed it had never sought the salary of any named individual at Rehab.
Earlier this week there was widespread disbelief when Justice Minister Alan Shatter revealed shocking figures which showed a Rehab Lotteries scratchcard game generated a profit of just €9,452 out of nearly €4m in total sales.
The compensation Charitable Lotteries Scheme is being wound down and is one of two bitter legal disputes between Rehab and the Government. Rehab is seeking up to €1.5 billion in damages for loss of past and future income because of the National Lottery’s dominant position in the market.
