Troubled Waterford partnership gets a clean bill of health
The partnership, which employs 41 staff directly, delivers programmes aimed at alleviating deprivation in Waterford city. Picture: Dan Linehan
A troubled company in Waterford which receives State and European funding to the tune of €3m, has been given a clean bill of health following doubt over whether it could continue operating.
Waterford City and County Council has said it is satisfied that "all financial issues" arising from the most recent published accounts for Waterford Area Partnership have been resolved and the company will be viable long-term.
This marks a reversal of last December's recommendation to the Department of Rural and Community Development to wind up the company and spread its services across other providers in the city and Tramore.
The partnership, which employs 41 staff directly, delivers programmes aimed at alleviating deprivation in Waterford City, such as the Waterford Food Bank, and has been in difficulty since the publication of the Crowe Howarth report.
That report found there was an "almost complete absence" of adequate financial management controls.
However, Waterford Council, which has a €1.1m contract with the partnership for social inclusion and community programmes (SICAP), has now received approval from councillors to provide a one-off grant of €60,000 to cover costs associated with work to support the company over the past eight months.
Waterford City and County Council director of services Ivan Grimes told the that following "protracted difficulties" for the company in terms of finalising its accounts for 2019 and 2020, significant progress has been made by the partnership's interim board and management.
"All financial issues arising from the 2018 AFS [annual financial statement] are now resolved and the directors are satisfied with the ongoing financial viability of the company," Mr Grimes said.
The company's chief executive announced his resignation shortly after the Crowe report, and several remaining board members refused to step down unless the company's future was assured rather than let it cease operating as originally mooted.
Advocating for the one-off grant, Mr Grimes told councillors it should be approved given "the works undertaken and the costs incurred were critical in ... effectively securing the future of Waterford Area Partnership".
He said the council's two priorities have been to ensure the continuation of the SICAP services for disadvantaged communities and to try to safeguard the jobs of staff employed by the company.
The grant was approved with unanimous agreement, but not without dissent.
Independent councillor Donal Barry said the partnership had been left in a "mess" after "major issues with accounting procedures" had been highlighted and questioned whether the council knew if investigations, including by gardaí into the company's financial transactions with other State bodies, were completed.
Me Grimes said he has been assured by the interim management that the resolution of the delayed accounts would address the substantive issues raised by investigators.
A spokesman for the partnership told the the company continues to cooperate with ongoing investigations into its procedures, and added that the partnership is holding its AGM next week where the 2019 accounts will be presented. Recruitment for a new chief executive and chief financial officer has also commenced.
