Charity pay - Transparency is necessary

For many years, religious institutions ran most Irish charities.

That work was largely voluntary. As a result, the Irish Examiner’s survey of the pay enjoyed by the heads of some leading charities is likely to raise many eyebrows.

The salaries of most of the chief executives ranged from €100,000 to €150,000.

Those charities are now run on a professional basis. Irish people have been particularly generous when it comes to charitable causes.

It is therefore important that those charities should operate on a transparent basis.

People should know for what they are contributing. They have a right to know the extent to which their donations are spent on the actual charitable purpose, as opposed to the administration of the institution.

Some chief executives have taken pay cuts in line with recent cutbacks, and most are not paid bonuses. This should be warmly welcomed.

Six of the 24 charities surveyed, however, refused to reveal any details of their remuneration, a disturbingly high figure. Charities must be totally transparent.