PAC urges ex-Rehab chiefs to co-operate

Former Rehab bosses Frank Flannery and Angela Kerins were told last night they are still expected to co-operate with the Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) as part of an examination into how the charity spends €90m a year of state money.

The committee said it will reserve the right to use its powers to compel both witnesses to appear, but that it has not come to that stage yet.

Both came in for strong criticism at a private meeting of the committee last night, after announcing they would not take part in today’s PAC meeting with representatives of the Rehab group.

There was particular annoyance with the “arrogant tone” of a letter from Mr Flannery in which he made a number of accusations about their motives.

With the assistance of its legal advisors, the committee wrote to both former chief executives last night, and strongly refuted accusations made by Mr Flannery.

In a statement yesterday evening, he said his “basic rights” have been “disregarded” by the PAC .

He’s refusing to attend today’s meeting, claiming they are addressing issues “over which I have no involvement, no authority or no knowledge” because he retired as chief executive in 2006.

Mr Flannery — who resigned as chair of the board of the charity last month — said there have been many changes since 2006 in the way public funds are administered by Rehab.

In a statement he complained that the agenda for today’s meeting “does not address my suggestions for specific questions or issues of relevance to me”.

He said committee members have indicated “in their public utterances” that they intended to go beyond their remit “and raise personal matters which are not relevant”.

Some members, he said: “Do not seem to be taking into account the basic fundamental rights of a private citizen under natural and constitutional justice.”

The long-serving Fine Gael strategist, who broke ties with the party earlier this year amid controversy over his involvement at Rehab, said PAC members were targeting him for political reasons.

“My basic rights seem to have been disregarded in the pursuit of a partisan political agenda designed to damage the party I have been associated with for many years, rather than to elicit further information on the matters under consideration and I would urge the committee to reconsider their entire approach,” he said.

In the Dáil on Tuesday, Taoiseach Enda Kenny repeated his view that Mr Flannery and the recently retired chief executive of Rehab, Angela Kerins, should appear before the PAC.

Rehab said last week it cannot force either of them to cooperate, because they no longer work for the charity.

Under laws passed by the Oireachtas last September, the PAC has certain powers to force witnesses to appear before them.