THE IRISH PUBLIC donated €36.9 million to the NGO Concern Worldwide last year, despite the recession.

In total, the organisation received donations of €50.3m from the UK and Irish public in 2011, according to its annual report – down 17 per cent on the previous year.

Concern said that the dip in donations was anticipated in the wake of “the major emergencies which boosted 2010 income”, such as the Haitian earthquake. However, it said the drop was “somewhat ameliorated by the public response to the crisis in East Africa”.

Income for the year hit €160.2 million in total (down 4 per cent on 2010), including €104m in government grants and from institutional donors.

Last year, Concern spent €68.7 million on emergency response programmes in 19 different countries including the East Africa food crisis and major flooding in Cambodia and India. The organisation’s total expenditure was €160.3 million, of which €10.8 million was spent on fundraising (down 5.5 per cent) and €828,000 on governance (up 3.5 per cent on 2010).

Staff numbers increased from 3,176 to 3,445, while staff costs fell from €12.471m to €12.317m last year, of which €10.486m was spent on wages. The report also shows that one staff members earned remunerations over €95,000 a year while another earned over €125,000.