PAC says it was entitled to ask about Rehab pay

The Dáil Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was entitled to ask about salaries paid by the Rehab Group, including to its former CEO Angela Kerins, because various group companies receive €80m annually in public funds, the High Court has heard.

While Ms Kerins has sought to distinguish between payments made by state bodies “to” Rehab and expenditure “by” Rehab, there was no such distinction, Paul Gallagher, for the PAC, argued. The Rehab Group charged its various companies for services and its expenditure was therefore open to scrutiny by the committee.

Ms Kerins was in court yesterday for the resumption of her challenge over hearings of the PAC concerning public payments to the charity.