ANGELA KERINS, THE chief executive of not-for-profit group Rehab, declined to disclose her current salary despite being asked a number of times to say how much she currently earns this morning.
Figures from 2012 show Kerins earns €234,000 but when asked about her salary in the wake of the recent top-ups controversy at some publicly-funded health agencies she said she had declared her salary on a number of occasions already.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Kerins said that the Rehab Group is not the same as other charities as over 60 per cent of its activities are in the commercial sector with 40 per cent in the not-for-profit area.
The Rehab Group, which says it works for social and economic inclusion among people with disabilities and others, received around €36 million in State funding in 2011.
“Fundamentally the people want to see fair and appropriate remuneration,” she said. “And the best way to achieve this is by independent professional evaluation of the role based on the size and the responsibility on the organisation.
“And there are many experts out there, like Hayes and Towers Watson, and they do this professionally and I believe the public would want this done.”
Kerins declined to say what she currently earns when asked directly by presenter Gavin Jennings: “Is €234,000-a-year still your salary?”
She said that Rehab is “actually an organisation with social values but commercially underpinned” and added: “The most important thing is that the remunerations of all senior staff are independently done by professional people, who know what they’re doing and can evaluate it properly.
“So I don’t wish to comment on anybody’s salary other than say that that should be done and it should be transparent.
She was on the programme to speak about a deal that Rehab Group has done with the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) in Saudi Arabia to train people there in developing employment programmes for people with disabilities in the Gulf state.
Kerins is accompanying the Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Enterprise Ireland on an extensive trade mission in the Gulf.
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