Not all charities overpay staff

For the second time in as many weeks I have heard supporters of two of the top ten Irish charities, ie, those charities whose CEOs earn in excess of €100,000 per annum, say that ‘ if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys’, or words to that effect.

This was a comment frequently rolled out by media spinners during the Celtic Tiger era to justify the egregious salaries and perks of the then bank and building society CEOs. That argument has been stood on its head by the collapse of the banking system and, in spite of the obvious, it is being recycled again in support of the dubious pay practices of some charities.

Monkeys are known for their intelligent behaviour, unlike some CEOs, and, secondly, the national cancer charity which I support, LARCC, is staffed by women and men whose dedication and commitment in helping recovering cancer patients is exemplary and, I can assure you, this is not because of the quite modest pay they receive for their devoted work.

I sincerely hope that the negative perception of some charities’ excessive payments to staff does not obscure the fact that smaller charities like LARCC are struggling to survive and will continue to need public support.

Comdt Frank Russell (Retired)

Blanchardstown

Dublin 15