Updated at 18.29pm

ALL MEMBERS OF the board of governors at the Central Remedial Clinic have resigned at the request of the HSE.

In a statement this evening, the Clinic said that that members who were directors of the Friends and Supporters of CRC, CRC Medical Devices, or The Care Trust have also resigned.

All resignations are with immediate effect.

It follows a meeting yesterday the HSE, where it was requested the dissolution of the current board at the CRC and any members of associated subsidiaries as part of an aim to restore confidence in the clinic.

In the Executive’s own statement, it said an administrator has been appointed to ‘oversee the work of the CRC and for leading the introduction of new governance arrangements for CRC and its associated subsidiaries’.

A new CEO will be appointed through the Public Appointments Service, the HSE said.

The CRC’s statement also reaffirms the Clinic’s aim to remain open, saying:

[...] The work of the dedicated staff and supporters of the Central Remedial Clinic to sustain, support, develop and protect the volume, quality and reliability of the services available to people with disabilities in Ireland deserves to continue as it has for more than six decades.

‘No resignations until investigation’

The chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, John McGuinness, said yesterday that these top executives at the Clinic should not resign until an investigation into its pay practices is complete.

Reacting to this evening’s resignations, he said they were “inevitable” due to “public pressure on the board”, and hoped for their continued co-operation:

I think it is important to say the former members of the board have a duty of care to the CRC and I hope they will co-operate with the work of the Public Accounts Committee until this matter is fully resolved.

He urged the public’s continued support to charities who rely on donations heavily at this time of year, and who have been affected by a “huge backlash… in light of the revelations of top-up payments at the CRC”.

The resignations follow Directors David Martin and Jim Nugent, and former CEO Paul Kiely, appearing before the Public Accounts Committee earlier this week to discuss revelations that salary top-ups at the Clinic were paid using charitable donations

These funds were originally donated to the registered charity “Friends and Supporters of the Central Remedial Clinic”.

‘Contractually bound’

The lengthy meeting revealed that the CRC was ‘contractually bound’ to top up the salaries of some staff.

Ahead of the meeting on Monday, Chief Executive Brian Conlan resigned.

Conlan himself did not receive any salary top-ups but his predecessor Paul Kiely got a top-up of €135,000 on top of a basic salary of €116,000.

Originally published 4.49pm

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