Thursday, December 12, 2013
Dear Fairy Sally »p17
Advice for when life’s no fairytale
CRC pension claim draws Mater fury
THE Mater Hospital has insisted millions of by bRian huTTon euro paid to it by the scandal-struck Central Remedial Clinic (CRC) is for 181 workers’ sions but was unsuccessful. ‘It was kicked out of the water,’ he said. pensions and is not a phantom fund. He told the Oireachtas Public Accounts The disability clinic’s former chief executive, Paul Kiely, said he tried to break the payments Committee (PAC) the ‘money going around the houses’ scheme forced the CRC to pay bebut was warned to stay away. Mr Kiely, who is at the centre of a contro- tween ten per cent and 13 per cent of staff versy over his salary and a €200,000 pay-off salaries to the Mater every year for the VHSS. He said the Mater came up with the idea to out of charitable donations, said he handed over a cheque every year for €666,000 to the pay gross salaries of CRC staff and the clinic would return it, plus a premium for the Mater Mater in a supposed mystery deal. Bosses at the Mater reacted angrily and de- of between ten per cent and 12.5 per cent. Asked by Independent TD Shane Ross if the manded Mr Kiely retract the allegation. They said the money goes into day-to-day accounts Mater has been charging the CRC €666,000 a and in turn the pensions of CRC staff are paid year to administer a ‘phantom fund’, Mr Kiely replied: ‘Yes.’ from the hospital’s current accounts. Mr Ross replied: ‘This is bonkers.’ The arrangement was put in place in the The PAC hearing, lasting almost six hours, 1970s for what the Mater said were ‘legal and technical reasons’, but was stopped more than heard five bosses at the CRC were given topup payments above a HSE cap a decade ago. However, the disof €79,000, of more than ability clinic’s staff remained €30,000 each out of the clinic’s members of its Voluntary Hospicharity fundraising company. tal Superannuation scheme. Mr Kiely’s private pension of ‘The VHSS scheme is in line €90,000 a year was also propped with public sector pension poliup by a €3million loan from the cy, whereby all pensions are donations. funded from current revenues, as Acting CRC chief executive is the case with all public hospiJim Nugent told TDs that bosses tals,’ the Mater said. paid more than the public sector Earlier, Mr Kiely claimed he pay cap were never asked to take tried to have the annual payments stopped on a number of occa- Kiely: €200k from donations a cut when it came in.
D’Arcy’s no boy Raycer...
Broadcaster Ray D’Arcy received an award from Gay Byrne, chairman of the Road Safety Authority, at the RSA Leading Lights 2013 ceremony in Farmleigh yesterday. Gertie Shields, founder of Mothers Against Drink Driving, was recognised with the Supreme Award, for decades of campaigning, while special recognition prizes were presented to D’Arcy and rally drivers Toni Kelly and Craig Breen and to safety ambassadors Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh, Keith McErlean, Pat Spillane, Eoin Kelly and Rick O’Shea robbie reynolds
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