Role in charity award comes under spotlight

Questions are expected to be raised about the role of former Rehab CEO Frank Flannery in signing off on a European award given to a division of the charity.

The Irish Examiner reported last April that the European prize for excellence certificate was signed by Mr Flannery for the National Learning Network — the training and education arm of the Rehab Group.

It became 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 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.

At the time, Mr Flannery was a member of its board of directors, and Angela Kerins, current CEO of the Rehab Group, is president of the European Platform of Rehabilitation board.

Mr Flannery was CEO of the Rehab Group for 25 years, and last night announced he was stepping down as a board member.

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

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

Details have been passed on to the members of the Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee who expect to question him in the coming weeks as part of its inquiries into issues at Rehab.