Rehab cuts CEO pay from €240k to €140k

Around €140,000 a year will be paid to the next chief executive of the Rehab Group, a consultant who is reviewing the controversial charity has revealed.

Dr Eddie Molloy, who is also chairman of the Mental Health Reform, was appointed by the Rehab Group to review its structures and governance last month.

The charity’s former chief executive, Angela Kerins, revealed that her salary was €240,000 a year, but only after she was put under pressure to do so.

Ms Kerins announced last month that she was resigning as chief executive of the Rehab Group.

Dr Molloy told RTÉ Radio yesterday that a chief executive to replace Ms Kerins would be appointed shortly, as would a new board.

He said he expected to be able to announce the new chairman of the Rehab Group early next week.

“We should be able to announce a chairman who has terrific experience of handling difficult situations and whose values and interests resonate with the mission and work of Rehab.”

He said a nomination committee that he was chairing with two other people who had nothing to do with Rehab was considering other potential board members who would have expertise in areas such as property, recovering reputation, further education and finance.

Dr Molloy said the salary of the chief executive would be around €140,000, a figure that was in the same zone as bigger charities in Ireland. None of the board members would be remunerated.

He said Rehab would look for a chief executive in the next few weeks.

Dr Molloy said it was felt that the salary for the position of chief executive was fair and would attract somebody who would seize the opportunity, not only to restore the fortunes and reputation of Rehab, but also of the sector that had been badly damaged by recent controversies.

He said Rehab would sign off next week on the “gold standard” of corporate governance that would apply to the organisation in the future in relation to conflicts of interest, taking gifts, annual reports, transparency, and full disclosure. Dr Molloy expects to have a new board in place by the end of June or the start of July.

Barnardos chief executive Fergus Finlay, who receives a salary of just over €110,000, said nobody had been in touch with him about the appointment but he would not be interested in the job anyway.

“I run a very good organisation and I do my best at it. I am also 63 years of age. So thanks, but no thanks,” said Mr Finlay.

However, he did think that the salary being considered for the new Rehab chief was similar to senior management salaries.

“I don’t think it is out of line with appropriate salary levels,” he said.