Pieta to review its operations after funding collapse

Last year Pieta had turnover of €13.4 million, but also recorded expenditure of €14.1 million.

Pieta House has been told to “review” its structure and operations in a bid to bridge the financial gap from the collapse in its fundraising.

The mental health charity, a Section 39 agency which normally receives 20% of its funding from the HSE, has been profoundly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, leading the Government to inject a one-off payment of just under €700,000 to mitigate the effects of the virus.

So-called Section 39 agencies are voluntary organisations based on a public-private funding model, with wages paid from both private funding and State bodies.

The State has service level agreements (SLAs) - a type of agreement which defines the expected level of service and the penalties for non-attainment of same - in place with most Section 39 agencies, including Pieta.

Even before the onset of Covid the charity had endured a torrid 2019, recording losses of more than €710,000 due to a shortfall in income from its Darkness into Light event. That same event was cancelled for 2020 due to the ongoing Covid crisis.

Last year Pieta had turnover of €13.4 million, but also recorded expenditure of €14.1 million.

Queried by Social Democrats co-leader Catherine Murphy, the HSE’s National Office for Suicide Prevention (NOSP) said the executive had developed a “structured approach” to the financial challenges presented by the coronavirus.

That involved a system of pro forma - that is, projected - analysis and recommendations to support decision-making at Section 39 agencies “that have made submissions to the HSE for both financial and non-financial supports” due to the pandemic.

The HSE has had five high-level meetings with representatives of Pieta since last November to discuss the state of its finances. In June of this year the two bodies met as part of a “discussion of the current Pieta financial position”.

At the end of July a final meeting was held at which additional Covid-19 funding was agreed. The Covid once-off payment settled upon between the two parties amounted to €690,000, according to the HSE’s response to Ms Murphy.

In May however the Department of Health said it had reached an agreement with the charity to provide further funding of €114,608 to it per month once the Government’s wage subsidy scheme ends - with that end date currently slated for March 31 of next year. At the time the Department said that agreement would equate to €343,824, or 300 counselling hours, per quarter.

Asked whether or not Pieta had been brought to the attention of the HSE in relation to the standards of governance at the organisation, NOSP said that, following an analysis of the charity’s financial standing and the “resulting financial gap” noted, it had recommended that the “board of Pieta put in place a comprehensive review of its structure and operations to develop a sustainable model for the organisation going forward”.

That will also require the charity to utilise “sustainable” funding models which would see its service levels “align with available funding income”.

“It would also need to reflect the impact of the Covid-19 economic situation in the medium term with an expected overall reduction in fundraising income for charitable organisations in Ireland,” NOSP said.

Pieta provides counselling services to those experiencing or contemplating self harm or suicidal ideation, along with bereavement services for those affected by suicide. It employs more than 200 people and has 15 centres and five outreach services.