HSE gave over €1million to charity which paid €84,000 to CEO's parents

The HSE contributed more than €1m to a charity where the parents of the chief executive received payments in excess of €84.000 unbeknownst to its other trustees.

Ataxia Ireland has been in receipt of HSE funding since 1999, when it received €27,934. The figure rose over the years, peaking at €112,558 in 2011. In 2016, before the HSE became aware of concerns at the charity, it received €84,832. The figure dropped to less than €4,000 this year after the Charities’ Regulator sent in inspectors last November to investigate its financial affairs.

Among their findings were that the parents of CEO Barbara Flynn, Clare and Tim Creedon, who were the founding trustees of the charity, received more than €84,000 between January 2008 and April 2016, even though Revenue had explicitly stated that trustees should carry out their duties without payment, other than reasonable out-of-pocket expenses.