The cost of giving...CEO salaries in charities...

[NewGoldDream]

Seeing as it's an issue raised in the Mary Davis campaign.

The apparent difficulty securing an answer from her in relation to her remuneration is of concern. Maybe not so much with regard to her campaign, but with regard to the charity. If she gets close on €100,000 as is alleged, those collecting for that charity will have to make do without my meagre contributions from now on. I do not give a cent to Goal, I understand that John O'Shea is well rewarded for his work too, and I stand open to correction on this but did he have a family member also drawing a salary too?

So that got me wondering about others. How much does Fergus Finley receive from Barnardos? Is it not time that there was a bit more openness about these figures? After all, we correctly demand to know how much those in our legislature or judiciary earn, should those who shake buckets in front of us and play on our charitable natures not also be required to be a bit more transparent.

[SeamusNapoleon]

Here you go.

The Examiner did a very thought-provoking piece on it this week. I've been meaning to cut it out of the paper.
Finlay is there - though no mention of what he gets with New Labour, or as a columnist for the Examiner!

[SeamusNapoleon]

i found this one particularly jarring:

IRISH GUIDE DOGS FOR THE BLIND
Provides services to people who are blind or vision impaired and to the families of children with autism.
Chief executive: Padraig Mallon (and acts as company secretary and HR manager).
Salary 2010/2011: €85,000 to €100,000.
Expenses 2010/2011: Vouched. No figures supplied.
Bonus payments: None.
Pension entitlements: IGDB operates a matched pension scheme. Employees make contributions of 5%.
Company car: None.
Charity income 2010: €4.2m.
No of euro paid to chief executive per €1,000 of charity income: 0.2% of total income.

Read more: Shedding light on the pay of charity chiefs | Irish Examiner

[David Cochrane]

You know, I tired of the attitude by users who think starting a thread along the lines of "why don't we know x" when they could easily go and find the information themselves. These organisations can be contacted and asked too. This isn't specifically related to this OP, but there's a general trend where users don't seem interested in finding out the information, but pointing out that because they don't know, there's something shady afoot.

Users shouldn't think an OP that makes clear an absense of information should replace a quick Google. Which for example, it took me 30 seconds to find this re: Barnardos.

The accounts do not disclose the salary of the charity’s chief executive Fergus Finlay. However, the filings for 2009 show one staff member received between €110,000 and €120,000, and four others between €100,000 and €110,000. Following the cuts, no staff member receives in excess of €110,000, while three are paid in excess of €100,000.

Barnardos raises €8.5m funding - The Irish Times - Tue, Mar 01, 2011

[The Saltees Eagle]

There is a huge issue in this area in Ireland unfortunately, NGD. Governance and publicly available information is fairly singular to say the least.

As I understand it the Revenue Commissioners are the ones who deal with charitable status. There is a peculiar setup as well with the very status of charities- a registered company can be a charity and therefore file their accounts with the Companies Registrar where the public has to pay a fee in order to see the accounts. Some charities will give access to their accounts via their websites and others don't.

I believe there are in excess of 7,000 charities or organisations registered with the Revenue Commissioners in Ireland as having charitable status for tax reasons.

The level of scrutiny over these organisations is less than satisfactory. This was acknowledged a couple of years back when the last government announced the creation of a Charity Commission which was, as far as I can see, just that- an announcement.

I don't believe a Charity Commission was ever actually formed. On the island next door any member of the public can access a registered charities' accounts without charge and see who the Trustee Directors are, search to see what other charities the Trustee is a director of, access the last five years accounts and access statistics on each charity to enable them to make an informed decision on whether to support them or not.

Just to give you an idea how this works- Gordon Brown had a charity set up I think called something like the 'John Smith' charity and you'd imagine that this would have been for charitable works. When some journos started digging around it the charity was quickly wound up amid accusations that it was effectively an organisation set up to collect funds for Brown's leadership bid. In other words disguised political funding. It was shut down sharpish.

How do we know that Irish politicians aren't being funded under the radar via this route? Answer- we don't. We know that there are some vastly overpaid charity CEOs in Ireland from media reports on some specific charities over the last few years- one I believe earning significantly in excess of the UK's Prime Minister's salary.

It is an area ripe for examination and a good overhaul in Ireland. Given the corporate governance culture in Ireland over the last 30 years in particular I have no doubt whatsoever that there are some horror stories hidden away in there.

Apart from salary and financial practice issues there are some very strange organisations in Ireland- one is a 'heritage' organisation on its website, declared itself a lobbying group in an Oireachtas debate and is also registered as a charity for tax purposes.

There are also a hidden crew of quangocrats sitting on charity boards basically under the radar who are no more than vested interest groups disguised as charities- of that I am certain.

[NewGoldDream]

You know, I tired of the attitude by users who think starting a thread along the lines of "why don't we know x" when they could easily go and find the information themselves.

Is there some rule about it? If not, I guess you're entitled to your opinion but pffft. A lot of threads bore me too, sure what can we both do but struggle on!

Back on topic, I would have thought the point of my post obvious. Yes, the information can be dug out. But either way, it is the scale of the salaries that most alarms me. You will, for example, note and accept that the topic title refers to the costs and salaries, not the transparency. I accept that the content of the post does address transparency too. The two seem to go hand in hand when we talk about salaries paid to public figures these days mind.

When it comes to transparency, I accept that I can do the relevant searches in Google or the CRO. But I think of my 75 year old mum, who is not as computer savvy as me, and is more inclined to give/be targetted by chuggers, and is inclined to give more too. She knows what TDs get, she knows what Judges get (all well covered by the media), but not sure anyone flaunts the salaries paid to figures in "charities".

[DianeVonFurstenberg]

Here you go.

The Examiner did a very thought-provoking piece on it this week. I've been meaning to cut it out of the paper.
Finlay is there - though no mention of what he gets with New Labour, or as a columnist for the Examiner!

Not on that list is Rehab Ireland, where the CEO takes home over 400,000 euro.

Plus some insiders have lucrative contracts with the company too.

State to review pay of disability service executives - The Irish Times - Tue, Mar 29, 2011

[NewGoldDream]

Not on that list is Rehab Ireland, where the CEO takes home over 400,000 euro.

Jaysis.

I think my poor old mum will fall off her rocking chair when she hears this. I will be saving her a fortune every week, which hopefully will be put to a much better cause...like my inheritance.

[imokyrok]

Not on that list is Rehab Ireland, where the CEO takes home over 400,000 euro.

Plus some insiders have lucrative contracts with the company too.

State to review pay of disability service executives - The Irish Times - Tue, Mar 29, 2011

That was the one that really shocked me especially since it provoked so little comment when that amount was released and the allegations about the coffin manufacturing.

People at the lower echelons of that organisation have never been well paid and their union has had to battle for rights other companies got much earlier.

[Levellers]

[QUOTE=NewGoldDream;4403651] I do not give a cent to Goal, I understand that John O'Shea is well rewarded for his work too, and I stand open to correction on this but did he have a family member also drawing a salary too?

QUOTE]

I understand he has two daughters working there.