17 May 2012, 15:59
The change programme being undertaken by the Irish Red Cross, especially in the areas of corporate governance and financial control, may have to be more extensive, according to a new report by the Public Accounts Committee.
The report on the Irish Red Cross highlights the corporate governance and financial management issues that have been the root cause of the organisation’s troubles in more recent years.
Committee Chairman John McGuinness TD said: “The Irish Red Cross is going through a major change programme and it may shortly be in a position to put some of its turbulent history behind it. In moving on, it needs to address corporate governance and financial control issues. The Department of Defence must also up its game in terms of ensuring that the necessary change happens and also by being clear that, should the public interest require, it will not hesitate to get publicly involved in the Irish Red Cross. Finally, the examination of the Irish Red Cross issue throws up a wider issue about how charitable donations can be used and the Committee has made a recommendation that will tighten up this area.”
Among the report’s key recommendations are:
1. The Department of Defence should ensure that a structured feedback process is in place to verify the implementation of the change programme that is being pursued at the Irish Red Cross and should insist that on-going public funding of the Irish Red Cross is conditional on the implementation of this programme of change.
2. The review of the legislation underpinning the Irish Red Cross should include an examination of whether a provision can be made which would permit, in the public interest, the intervention of the Minister for Defence in the running of the Irish Red Cross where exceptional circumstances arise.
3. The new rules relating to the length of term that can be served on the executive board of the Irish Red Cross should be made effective for all current members finishing their current term.
4. The Irish Red Cross should examine how it can get the scope to make outside appointments to its executive board and/or sub-committees of the board in order to enhance governance.
5. All charities have a duty to inform donors, especially during the course of nationwide appeals, of the need for manual donations such as cheques to be referenced to the appeal so that the subsequent use of the donation is linked to the original intent of the donor. In addition, charities should not be allowed used designated funding for other purposes without the express permission of the donor. Charities should contact the donor to receive that express permission in respect of any occasion where the donation is to be used for a purpose that is not in line with the original intent of the donor.
6. The Irish Red Cross must undertake regular audits of all its branches in order to enhance financial control.
Click here to view Committee Chairman John McGuinness discussing the report: http://youtu.be/07eAWPUWYcw
To view the report click on the following link: http://bit.ly/L9xK35
ENDS
For further information please contact:
Ciaran Brennan,
Houses of the Oireachtas,
Communications Unit,
Leinster House,
Dublin 2
P: +3531 618 3903
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Committee Membership
John McGuinness (Chairman)
Kieran O’Donnell (Vice Chairman)
Paul J Connaughton,
John Deasy,
Paschal Donohoe,
Gerald Nash,
Simon Harris,
Michael McCarthy,
Mary Lou McDonald,
Sean Fleming,
Eoghan Murphy,
Derek Nolan,
Shane Ross