Departing Rehab staff member paid up to €310k

One departing staff member at Rehab received salary and redundancy payments of €300,000 to €310,000 last year.

That is according to Rehab’s 2015 annual report which shows that the charity paid out redundancy sums of €1m to its departing high fliers. This followed €3.2m paid out in redundancy in 2014 and the combined €4.2m arises from the fallout of the controversy that the organisation was mired in 2014 that culminated in the resignation of its chief executive, Angela Kerins and a new board being appointed five months later.

Ms Kerins who was on a salary of €240,000 resigned citing the toll the controversy surrounding the charity group had taken on it and her own personal life.

Ms Kerins is seeking damages in a High Court action against the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) claiming that she was subjected to a witch-hunt during the Committee’s inquiry into Rehab’s finances in 2014.

Now, the organisation’s 2015 annual report shows that the total remuneration, including redundancy costs to Rehab’s General Management Team last year amounted to €2.49m.

The accounts show one employee received through salary and redundancy payments €270,000 to €280,000 last year. At the same time, the amount that Rehab received through ‘Lottery and donations’ plunged 44.5% going from €7.5m to €4.1m. This included ‘Lottery Activity’ funding decreasing from €5.5m to €3.4m and donations decreasing from €327,000 to €248,000. The annual report includes a table of the best paid members of staff at Rehab in 2015, excluding redundancy payments, with one person receiving €170,000 to €180,000.

One other received a salary between €140,000 and €150,000 with another receiving a salary of between €130,000 and €140,000.

The report confirms that current CEO Mo Flynn receives a salary of €140,000.

Four others had payments of €110,000 to €120,000 last year with seven others getting salary of €100,000 to €110,000. A note attached to the accounts states four former employees’ details have been redacted from the report as they withdrew their consent for disclosure of details to third parties that might identify them.

A statement from Rehab yesterday stated: “In the last two-and-a-half years, Rehab has undergone a period of significant change including a substantial reorganisation of its structures. The 2015 financial report reflect these changes.”

It goes on to state: “Fundraising and lottery income noted in the 2015 annual report resulted from a number of factors including a reorganisation of Rehab’s fundraising and lottery activities including a forecast reduction in the Charitable Lotteries fund.”