Cope Foundation posts €1.36m loss after €5.5m profit

The Cork-based foundation that operates a residential centre that was recently heavily criticised by an independent health watchdog last year recorded losses of over €1.36m.

Last week, Hiqa published a report exposing serious shortcomings in the care offered to residents with intellectual disabilities at the Cope Foundation’s Ard Dara Centre in Montenotte, Cork.

In the report, the foundation was criticised for recording incidents of unexplained bruising and failing to do anything about them or about other allegations of abuse of residents.

In response, the Cope Foundation described the shortcomings the report found as “unacceptable and hugely disappointing” and stated that it would address all issues raised “within the resources available and within time-frames agreed with Hiqa”.

Now accounts published by the Cope Foundation show the agency recorded a loss of €1.36m in 2014 and this followed a profit of €5.47m in 2013 — a negative swing of €7m.

A contributory factor to the loss was a revenue deficit of €272,390 that relates to Hiqa registration and inspection costs of its 27 centres for which the Cope Foundation was not funded.

The directors in their report state that since 2009, HSE funding has been reduced by €5.5m while the number of people it supports has risen from 1,700 people in 2009 to 2,350 in 2014.

The directors state: “In addition, no funding has been received for the cost of pay increments or maternity leave replacements since 2009.

The report adds: “Pay costs represents 80% approximately of the overall running costs of Cope Foundation which are required to be in accordance with Department of Health pay scales.

The directors state that as a result, the Cope Foundation can only control and manage savings relating to the 20% of non-pay expenditure through procurement initiatives and efficiency measures.

The report states: “At the same time as State investment has been eroded, the fundraising climate within which the organisation operates has become increasingly challenging.”

The directors state that the major portion of the foundation’s loss for 2014 related to non-cash depreciation costs and pointed out that the 2013 €5.4m profit related to a pension scheme gain.

The foundation last year received funds of €48.8m from the HSE. Numbers employed by Cope last year increased from 1,109 to 1,177 with one person receiving a salary between €120,000 and €130,000.

The foundation’s total income in 2014 totalled €56.6m with its total expenditure amounting to €57.99m.

The foundation’s salary costs last year increased by 9% from €37.4m to €40.16m.