Updated at 8.49pm
FORMER CHIEF EXECUTIVE of the Central Remedial Clinic Brian Conlan has agreed to appear before the Public Accounts Committee, the panel’s chairman has confirmed.
The committee had been planning to try and compel the former CEO of the Clontarf clinic to attend a hearing. However, committee chair John McGuinness told TheJournal.ie this evening that Conlan had agreed to appear, after it was decided “one last attempt” would be made to contact him.
It’s expected his appearance will be scheduled for January.
Conlan resigned from his role on Monday, following the controversy over fundraising money being used to pay salary top-ups of senior staff. Although he himself did not receive any salary top-ups, Conlan’s predecessor Paul Kiely got a top-up of €135,000 on top of a basic salary of €116,000. Acting CEO Jim Nugent told the PAC yesterday that the organisation was and still is ‘contractually bound’ to pay certain levels of pay to some staff.
The CRC became embroiled in the ongoing top-ups scandal when it was revealed by independent TD Shane Ross that the clinic had access to funds of the registered charity ‘Friends and Supporters of the Central Remedial Clinic’.
The CRC subsequently admitted that cash from the Friends and Supporters group had been “used to pay any additional salary amounts over the Department of Health’s consolidated pay scale”.
Some members of the Public Accounts Committee have called for the resignations of the clinic’s board members —but McGuinness said earlier today that they should remain in their roles until an investigation into pay practices is complete. He said a “vacuum” would be created if the directors stepped aside immediately.
Asked about the issue at an event today, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said that yesterday’s five hour engagement with the CRC board had left “nobody in any doubt [about] what should be done”.
Originally posted at 6.30pm
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