Charity directors quit after being ‘abandoned’ by watchdog

The charity regulator’s lack of any real power has come to light following the resignation of four directors from a children’s charity over concerns about governance and financial irregularities.

David Hall, one of the directors to resign from the Saoirse Foundation, said he was dismayed to find the Charities Regulatory Authority has no power to conduct an investigation.

Mr Hall wrote to charity regulator Úna Ní Dhubhghaill in March expressing concerns at what he claimed were attempts by Foundation CEO Tony Heffernan to block the board’s efforts to appoint an external company to carry out a review of certain fundraising events and a governance review.