What's Up in Irish Charities ?

[fluffybiscuits]

He comes over on radio as having an overbearing attitude and as not being someone interested in opinions other than his own.

Just thinking that, he was always on radio...

[PaddyJoe]

This story has been rumbling along since an audit by Irish Aid late last year:

Monday February 06 2012
THE Government has threatened to withdraw state support for the charity GOAL unless it addresses corporate governance concerns.

Irish Aid has indicated that future funding depends on GOAL implementing a series of recommendations contained in an audit carried out last year.

GOAL received €16.8m from Irish Aid in 2010 -- the most recent year for which the charity's accounts are available.

The audit stated that there was concern about the "uncertainty over the effective exercise of higher-level oversight of management systems and personnel". GOAL has seen three different chairmen in the space of a year and paid two unnamed employees more than €100,000 in 2010.

http://www.independent.ie/national-n...t-3010670.html

[PaddyJoe]

Farewell, Mr Goal
GOAL founder John O'Shea is to retire from his role as CEO following the settlement of his High Court action aimed at restraining the board of the charity from taking any steps to suspend or remove him from his position.
http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0726/goa...to-retire.html

[Captain Con O'Sullivan]

Why do I get the feeling that this problem has been resolved by recourse to writing another six figure sum on a cheque..?

[PaddyJoe]

Looks like John may have left a few unresolved issues behind him:

AID AGENCY Goal has been warned by its tax consultants that it faces a potential tax and social security exposure in relation to UK-based employees working in the Republic.

Consultants KPMG, in a draft report seen by The Irish Times, have also warned Goal that it needed to consider making a qualifying disclosure to the Revenue Commissioners in relation to all matters giving rise to a tax liability.

One internal source told The Irish Times Goal’s tax exposure could be as high as €500,000 but this was denied by a senior member of management. The exposure relates to PAYE due in relation to some senior managers employed on UK contracts after 2006, when Irish law changed.

The matter is the subject of a complaint to Revenue made by a member of staff.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...321806655.html

[Captain Con O'Sullivan]

Aha- the spectre of the offshored senior employee. When they say 'UK' do they really mean Isle of Man?

Or companies set up in the UK and taking advantage of UK tax law to reduce tax that really should be paid in the Republic?

There will be a couple of 'social entrepreneurs' doing what 'social entrepreneurs' do at the bottom of this.

[PaddyJoe]

The Niall Mellon Trust appears to be having some serious issues:

Irishman Niall Mellon’s highly publicised SA housing project is at the centre of a local court clash.

In papers filed at the Western Cape High Court, the Mellon Housing Initiative’s (MHI) executive director, James Maasch, claims that Mellon is trying to pull R80 million in what he alleges is mostly public money from the company – some of which was earmarked for low-cost housing in SA townships – and divert it to build houses in Brazzaville in the Congo.

http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-cour...3#.UFOvACxAhhM

[PaddyJoe]

Winding up it appears:

ENTREPRENEUR AND philanthropist Niall Mellon has decided to wind up his annual charity building blitzes by Irish people in poor townships in South Africa.

The businessman confirmed to The Irish Times yesterday that the week-long trip from Dublin by about 600 people on November 10th to Masiphumelele will be the last one organised to South Africa by the Niall Mellon Township Trust.

Since 2002, the trust has built about 20,000 homes and housed more than 100,000 people.

Mr Mellon said about 8,000 Irish people have travelled for the various building blitzes, raising about €40 million in donations for his ambitious housing programme for the poor of South Africa.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...324049916.html

[PaddyJoe]

There may be a couple of discrepancies between the IT account of the Niall Mellon position and the story reported in the South African press

The decision to wind down in South Africa led to a legal challenge by members of the trust to prevent changes to its governance and board membership of the charity. It also raised issues about how the surplus would be managed.

Mr Mellon said the high court in Cape Town yesterday ruled in his favour and five new board members had been appointed to assert control over the trust. “It has been dismissed by the high court,” said Mr Mellon. “We are very pleased that the high court vindicated our position.”

Irish Times

September 14 2012 at 10:07am
By Leila Samodien
In papers filed at the Western Cape High Court, the Mellon Housing Initiative’s (MHI) executive director, James Maasch, claims that Mellon is trying to pull R80 million in what he alleges is mostly public money from the company – some of which was earmarked for low-cost housing in SA townships – and divert it to build houses in Brazzaville in the Congo.
/snip/
Mellon acknowledged in his affidavit that it was true that he and the other respondents “now wish to obtain control of the board”.

“There is nothing unlawful about this desire. The purpose is not to apply [MHI’s] funds for some purpose which does not fall within the bounds of [MHI’s] powers and objects,” said Mellon. He also acknowledged that he had sought legal advice earlier this year as to whether funds in MHI could be used to build houses in the Congo.

When advised that this was not possible, Mellon had “accepted this advice unreservedly”.

MHI, Marsh and Maasch are asking the high court to interdict the respondents from holding the meeting, as well as issue an order preventing the company from making any payments outside SA other than its ordinary business dealings.

The matter is expected to be heard in court on Friday.

http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-cour...3#.UFPEbixAhhN

[PaddyJoe]

There may be a couple of discrepancies between the IT account of the Niall Mellon position and the story reported in the South African press

Irish Times


http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-cour...3#.UFPEbixAhhN

It seems that the Niall Mellon trust has now been wound up:

South Africa delivered a resounding thank you to Niall Mellon and 600 Irish volunteers on the charity’s final housing blitz here, when President Jacob Zuma paid an impromptu visit to the building site in Wallacedene.

Arriving in the desperately poor township, where there were five murders last week, his fleet of BMWs and police vehicles disgorged a dozen stony personal security staff and heavily armed police to shield the president from cheering residents, barking dogs and Irish volunteers still working on the site. The president chatted to Niall Mellon before ceremoniously handing over the keys of a new house to the father of a young family.

From there, he was whisked to Enkululekweni primary school and its airy, adjoining hall – built two years ago by the Niall Mellon Township Trust – where the Irish volunteers had assembled. “There couldn’t be a better time for all of us to have this time with you,” Mr Mellon said, giving him a potted history of the charity, acknowledging the government’s commitment to housing, and noting that the two countries shared a common history, where both had been oppressed and faced a great struggle to create a future for their people.

Addressing Mr Mellon as “the good brother who initiated this great movement”, when told that 50 per cent of the charity’s volunteers were South African, he said: “I was going to say, let’s try to establish this movement in South Africa. Now if South Africans are a part of it, what else do we want?”

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...326668871.html

[PaddyJoe]

Curious story of the 'single searchable database on the 8,000 non-profit organisations registered in Ireland'
Seem to have run out of funding.

The inkex.iewebsite, built and operated by the Irish Nonprofits Knowledge Exchange (INKEx), went live in November 2011, on time and within budget.

The project’s €1.2 million costs had been pledged through a combination of government, philanthropic and corporate grants.

Once fully operational, INKEx planned to trade as a private entity, selling information on the sector to statutory and philanthropic bodies along the lines of the successful GuideStar model in the US.

However, barely a year after its launch the site is now defunct, and INKEx has ceased trading, at a potential cost to the State of €200 million over the next five years.

I've never heard of this effort but the €200 million figure is surely grossly exaggerated spin?
Apart from that why would the government plus philanthropic and corporate sources spend €1.2 million on something that was going to trade as a private entity?
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...LkDgKU.twitter

[PaddyJoe]

At least they produced a report before funding was suspended:

On Monday 6th February 2012 we launched Irish Nonprofits: what do we know?

This report was generated from the Irish Nonprofits Database: governance and financial information derived from the audited financial statements and/or other regulatory filings of more than 12,000 Irish nonprofits, including 8,000 nonprofit companies.

Download the report here Irish Nonprofits, what do we know?

http://www.inkex.ie/wp-content/uploa...do-we-know.pdf

[disability student]

At least they produced a report before funding was suspended:


http://www.inkex.ie/wp-content/uploa...do-we-know.pdf

Does it mention Rehab and Angela Kerins? it would be an interesting read.

[PaddyJoe]

Does it mention Rehab and Angela Kerins? it would be an interesting read.

Interesting report but no organisation mentioned by name. It seems that up to now they have been more concerned with getting a handle on the number of non-profits, sectoral distribution, employees, aims, tax status, geographical distribution, etc.
Complex job.

[PaddyJoe]

Skimming through the report but I can see how a helluva lot of people might not be too happy with the stated aim of the project. Very granular information on directors, financial statements, tax status and grants?
We don't need to know that kind of stuff, do we?