Letter from the Irish Red Cross

Oscail

Dear CIRCA1990,

Some questions for you to assist your innocence:

1. You are a unit member which forms a branch which forms part of an Area. Why dont you do something to have these people who are GUILTY removed from the organisation. Why do you and others remain silent, hiding away hoping this mess just disappears? If you care so much for the Irish Red Cross why have you let it be destroyed by people who are unbelievably incompetent and possibly corrupt?

2. Lets be clear here. You need to read the new Irish Red Cross Constitution because clearly you havent read it yet. The 'highest deliberative authority' of the IRC is its Central Council. It is not the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee is supposed to report to the Central Council. The new Constitution allows a member serve for LIFE on this body (Central Council). There is no compulsory rotation and NO maximum terms of office. This breaches all good governance practice. This body elects the Executive Committee from amongst its ranks.

3. The new Constitution (which by the way still has not been approved by the Irish government and still has not been approved by the Joint Statutes Commission of the IFRC/ICRC in Geneva and so is NOT in effect yet) states that members of the Executive Committee can only serve for 2 terms of 3 years each implying a maximim of 6 years. It does not take into account previous service (as good practice would dictate) so you have people like Tony Lawlor being re-appointed for the 21st year in May and he can serve for another 6 years minimum bringing his service to 27 years, something which is bringing howls of laughter and ridicule down on the Irish Red Cross. Most importantly about this 'new' Constitution which is not yet approved is that the '6 year rule ' says you only have to step down if another person competes for the position and if nobody competes then you can serve a 3rd term bringing you to nine year and so on. You should know that nobody in over a decade has ran against Tony Lawlor for the Vice Chair position so in 6 years time if that is still the same he will be allowed run for another 3 years brining his service to 30 years. So CIRCA1990 please cop on to yourself. This Constitution is designed with one purpose in mind, to keep Lawlor and co in power. The new Constitution also allows members serve for LIFE on branch committees and Area committees, all in breach of good governance practice.

3. The Irish Red Cross has a fully fledged commercial arm which charges 'for profit' rates for its services. Its whole purpose is to generate profit. Again CIRCA1990 you dont seem to know your own organisation very well. The Irish Red Cross runs a first aid centre on the Shell Corrib site in Mayo and is paid handsomely for doing so, very big money. Irish Red Cross pays ALL its first aid personnel on this site, NONE of them are volunteers.

So CIRCA1990 you are living in an innocent little fantasy where you appear to know little about your own organisation. You acknowledge people should be ousted but do nothing about it and as a result these people continue to wreck the organisation you say you love. Well then show some courage and do something about it.

Della Digby

circa1990 wrote: »

Excuse me for only seeing this thread now. I just read this post and it infuriated me, as I am an active unit member of the IRC, now I do not agree with anything that the society has done concerning misappropriation of funds and I'm all for ousting those who let this happen but what you're saying here, is absolutely untrue. No board member can sit on the board of directors for life. According to our new regulations, they can sit for a maximum of 2 3 year tems ie a maximum of 6 years. Now I don't know about you but when I was at school, 6 years didn't constitute as a lifetime.

I am so sorry this infuriated you, but as with most members of the Red Cross that is where your action ends. Did you ask your Central Council representative not to re appoint the guys you suggest you disapprove of , well, you and I know what the answer is to that. So lets just say your crime is silence!
As for going to school I did not have much of that privilege, but in the midst of a life of willingness to learn I learned to read and write, albeit not too eloquently. So whilst you counted I read. Yes, there is a stipulation that members must only serve two terms, but this does not apply to the board. The board of the Irish Red Cross is the Central Council. the sub committee to which those regulations refer to is the Executive Committee which is made up of members of the board. Then you forgot to mention the proviso in those rules to which you refer, that an Executive member must only stand down if no suitable candidate is found for the post or there is only one nomination for the post. So at this point we get back to you, and what you have done against those that took money immorally, sweet FA all you did was get infuriated, bully for you ! The current Vice Chairman according to the rules you quote can sit for life, as no one ever runs against him, because your CC rep. was too scared to stand up and be counted, so maybe all that counting for you folks in Ireland, accounts for keeping the STATUS QUO! It appears unlike yourself have read these new rules! I guess you will now tell us in this Blog that all the members of the Irish Red Cross had an opportunity to discuss openly these rule changes.... !

goat2

Oscail wrote: »

Dear CIRCA1990,

Some questions for you to assist your innocence:

1. You are a unit member which forms a branch which forms part of an Area. Why dont you do something to have these people who are GUILTY removed from the organisation. Why do you and others remain silent, hiding away hoping this mess just disappears? If you care so much for the Irish Red Cross why have you let it be destroyed by people who are unbelievably incompetent and possibly corrupt?

2. Lets be clear here. You need to read the new Irish Red Cross Constitution because clearly you havent read it yet. The 'highest deliberative authority' of the IRC is its Central Council. It is not the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee is supposed to report to the Central Council. The new Constitution allows a member serve for LIFE on this body (Central Council). There is no compulsory rotation and NO maximum terms of office. This breaches all good governance practice. This body elects the Executive Committee from amongst its ranks.

3. The new Constitution (which by the way still has not been approved by the Irish government and still has not been approved by the Joint Statutes Commission of the IFRC/ICRC in Geneva and so is NOT in effect yet) states that members of the Executive Committee can only serve for 2 terms of 3 years each implying a maximim of 6 years. It does not take into account previous service (as good practice would dictate) so you have people like Tony Lawlor being re-appointed for the 21st year in May and he can serve for another 6 years minimum bringing his service to 27 years, something which is bringing howls of laughter and ridicule down on the Irish Red Cross. Most importantly about this 'new' Constitution which is not yet approved is that the '6 year rule ' says you only have to step down if another person competes for the position and if nobody competes then you can serve a 3rd term bringing you to nine year and so on. You should know that nobody in over a decade has ran against Tony Lawlor for the Vice Chair position so in 6 years time if that is still the same he will be allowed run for another 3 years brining his service to 30 years. So CIRCA1990 please cop on to yourself. This Constitution is designed with one purpose in mind, to keep Lawlor and co in power. The new Constitution also allows members serve for LIFE on branch committees and Area committees, all in breach of good governance practice.

3. The Irish Red Cross has a fully fledged commercial arm which charges 'for profit' rates for its services. Its whole purpose is to generate profit. Again CIRCA1990 you dont seem to know your own organisation very well. The Irish Red Cross runs a first aid centre on the Shell Corrib site in Mayo and is paid handsomely for doing so, very big money. Irish Red Cross pays ALL its first aid personnel on this site, NONE of them are volunteers.

So CIRCA1990 you are living in an innocent little fantasy where you appear to know little about your own organisation. You acknowledge people should be ousted but do nothing about it and as a result these people continue to wreck the organisation you say you love. Well then show some courage and do something about it.

thank you for clarifying, so it is not by donations alone, the irc operates, and as for the fellow who is applying for the position without opposition, why are there none others interested in this position, new blood is good sometimes

gmoyne

goat2 wrote: »

thank you for clarifying, so it is not by donations alone, the irc operates, and as for the fellow who is applying for the position without opposition, why are there none others interested in this position, new blood is good sometimes

There are plenty interested, the only problem is that the control goes all the way down the ladder. Even the Secretary Generals, all of them left in disgust and broken. many have tried to take on Lawlor and co, but they are so devious, you cannot imagine. If he can get away with hiding money what else is hidden. I know they were busy in recent years shredding documentation.

goat2

gmoyne wrote: »

There are plenty interested, the only problem is that the control goes all the way down the ladder. Even the Secretary Generals, all of them left in disgust and broken. many have tried to take on Lawlor and co, but they are so devious, you cannot imagine. If he can get away with hiding money what else is hidden. I know they were busy in recent years shredding documentation.

is there an investigation going on, and since documents are being shredded, how then can any wrongdoings be proved, or are there copies of all documents that can be found

gmoyne

goat2 wrote: »

is there an investigation going on, and since documents are being shredded, how then can any wrongdoings be proved, or are there copies of all documents that can be found

There are fairly substantial amounts of documents available and retained by several individuals, which I believe are no longer available in the Head Office of the Irish Red Cross. A freedom of information request by myself which was ignored by the Red Cross for a substantial period of time returned a result of no documents available. This is surprising as I was subjected to threats of Court action by one of the Officers of the board and also subjected to a disciplinary hearing with the purpose of kicking me out of the Society. needless to say neither worked. No information on either of these events now exist despite being recorded in the minutes of the board?

The good side of this whole scenario is that many members insured that important documentation which can be of vital importance to any formal investigation into the Society were retained safely. So the situation is until this happens the documents remain intact. Not so for many other documents!

Oscail

See link below to the open letter issued by Transparency International Ireland to Minister for Justice and Defence, Alan Shatter, calling for an independent investigation into the Irish Red Cross.

http://www.transparency.ie/news_events/ti-ireland-open-letter-minister-alan-shatter-irish-red-cross

goat2

hopefully this letter will encourage a good outcome,

Oscail

Irish Red Cross gets well deserved present from Sunday Independent in its Christmas Day edition!!!

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/red-cross-needs-year-to-shake-off-bad-press-2973022.html

Zorbas

Both Irish Red Cross and GOAL have clearly got governance and management problems and the sooner they are re-organised and held accountable for their operations the better. Both appear to need to open up to new ideas and to move away from the select few of dubious office-bearers or family run offices.

Oscail

The Irish Red Cross (IRC) appeared before the Dail Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on the 19th January as part of the PAC investigation into financial irregularities, mismanagement and misgovernance at the Society. Much of the evidence presented by Irish Red Cross was factually incorrect. The question is did the Irish Red Cross officials knowingly mislead the Committee members? The jury is out on this but at a minimum serious questions must be asked about IRC integrity.

Subsequent to the hearing Irish Red Cross was challenged on record by two individuals, one a former senior manager at the Irish Red Cross, Noel Wardick and the other a former senior Board member at the Irish Red Cross, Jennifer Bulbulia. The PAC published both their letters and sent both to Irish Red Cross for a response.

Irish Red Cross was forced to admit in written correspondence back to the PAC that they had presented incorrect evidence to the Committee members and they were forced to apologise in writing for this. The PAC published the IRC response which is available on the PAC website. Donal Forde is the Secretary General of IRC. Prior to this he was the Managing Director of AIB Ireland where he lost his job after the bank imploded due to spectacular incompetence by senior managers. In 2008 he gave incorrect evidence to the PAC in his AIB role. In 2012 he once again gave incorrect evidence to PAC, this time representing IRC and was forced to admit it and apologise for it. Is this a coincidence or a pattern of behaviour?

The Blog http://governancereformatirishredcross.blogspot.com

has excellent details on the Irish Red Cross's inaccurate and false evidence to the PAC as well as the various letters which prove this.

Oscail

See article below re recent going ons at Irish Red Cross:

http://governancereformatirishredcross.blogspot.com/2012/04/mystery-surrounds-appointment-of-new.html#comment-form

goat2

just been reading above link, have to read again to take it all in, unless someone simplefies this for me, three year terms and six year terms, and then they are supposed to elect new heads, but if no other come forward that people can serve up twenty years at the helm, why are there no new canditates applying to take on these high positions with the irc

Oscail

Thanks Goat2.

Yes it can be a bit confusing but at the heart of it is a small group of power hungry individuals who have controlled and ruined the Irish Red Cross over a 20 year period. The Vice Chairman who is the most dominant and powerful individual in the organisation has not been challenged for the position in well over ten years and possibly never in his 21 years in the role. People are warned off challenging for certain positions. For years and years there was no contest for Vice Chair and Treasurer, just one nominee for each post and therefore the one nominee automatically appointed. People knew if you challenged for a post you would quickly become persona non grata. These people have remained in power primarily through fear and promises of things like ambulances and new uniforms to the ambulance wing in branches around the country if they vote for so and so. All the while the Department of Defence who appointed the Irish Red Cross Chairman and 16 members of the 42 member Central Council stood by despite all the evidence of misgovernance and misuse of public money. It will be interesting to see in May if the Vice Chairman has the brass neck to go for a 22nd year as Vice Chair/on the board and basically give the two fingers to the Minister who has stated in writing to IRC that no one person should serve in any one position on a board for more than six years and in multiple positions for no more than 12 years. The thing is he has given the two fingers to the Minister before and the Minister did nothing about it and these guys smell inaction and indifference a mile off. They know they can act with impunity.

goat2

has anyone ever pubiclystated that they had put themselves forward for these positions, and if they did and were shunned, why then did they not come out pubicly and say so, as long as things are kept quiet and people are afraid to speak up this will still go on,

Oscail

The Sunday Times of 13th May 2012 reports that the Irish Red Cross Society has settled with Noel Wardick, the former Head of the International Department, who was fired for going public with concerns he had around financial irregularities at the Society.

According to the Sunday Times Wardick said he was satisfied with the outcome. "I hope the events of recent years will continue to act as a catalyst for deep rooted reform and I wish all those at the IRC involved in reforming the Society every success," he said. Apparently the terms of the agreement are confidential but Wardick is not barred from continuing to discuss concerns he has about the charity.

Oscail

See article below, a bit dated as from late January but still a good account.

http://crimson-observer.blogspot.com/2012/01/rambling-shambolic-irish-red-cross.html#.T7LGkq1w7v4.email

Oscail

In case anyone is in any doubt about the dysfunctional nature of Irish Red Cross the Dail Public Accounts Committee issued its report and findings today following its own detailed examination of the Irish Red Cross. Link to report is:

http://www.oireachtas.ie/parliament/media/Report-on-the-Irish-Red-Cross-(FINAL).pdf

goat2

i cannot open the linky,
but anyway,
did the oireachtas find any faults with their study of the red cross,
were they satisfied or not

Count Dooku

At least six members of the board of the Irish Red Cross are to leave their posts this month following the publication of a damning report last Thursday by the Dail's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) into the embattled society.


The PAC also noted that IRC whistleblower Noel Wardick's communications to them were "central" to its reaching its damning findings. Mr Wardick, who was sacked for gross misconduct after he revealed himself as a whistleblower, recently settled an Employment Appeals Tribunal action.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/mass-exodus-from-red-cross-board-3112789.html

goat2

it says the vice chairman is taking up another post within the red cross after 21 years in the vices job,
what what position is he taking up,

Oscail

The Vice Chairman is off the board of directors from 26th May 2012 for the first time in 21 years.

He will take up the volunteer post of National Director of Units which oversees the IRC ambulance service. Its the consolation prize for being forced off the board, just like sending Charlie MacCreevy to Europe when Bertie got rid of him!

With 6 senior board members departing on 26th May and a possible nine or ten new board members in total to the 14 person board its the biggest board clear out in IRC's 73 year history and the most important and long overdue. Irish Red Cross has at least a chance of a future now.

miju

good to see things progressing and hopefully things will get alot better for the IRC.But have to say it does remind me of Robert De Niro in Goodfellas changing his title to Food & Beverage manager when he eventually got found out.

sarkozy

IRC appointed new board members. It's great to see organisations pull through things like this, under intense public scrutiny, and proactively use events as an opportunity to learn and improve.

goat2

were these new board members already members of the red cross,
its unbeleivable what can go on in these big organisations, i now wonder are there any more organisations with these types of problems,

Oscail

Good see fresh blood and new experience installed at Irish Red Cross.

The Chairman will also appoint another two external people to the Board of Directors in the coming weeks as per the new Irish Red Cross constitution. This will mean 8 of the 14 Board of Directors will be serving on the board for the first time. This must be seen as a positive development, especially in light of the departure of 6 long serving board members including the former Vice Chairman who served for 21 years. The Irish Times carried an article on the new board members on 29th May 2012:

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0529/1224316866966.html

goat2

noel wardick got in trouble for highliting problems with the asian tsunami fund 2005,
i know it says that they had reached an agreement or settle ment with mr wardick,
does noel now have anything to do with the red cross, or will he be brought back into the fold by the new team,

what exactily had happened to the fund in the first place.