NUIG fundraising charity spend €50k on business-class flights, €30k on taxis, investi

moceri

A further €24,145 on flights that included economy class tickets one way, and a business class return
An average of €385 per night on hotel accommodation, with the cost of hotels in many cases in excess of Revenue’s guidelines for overseas travel
A further €32,202 on flights and accommodation for guests
Almost €11,000 on ten trips for spouses of the foundation’s directors, with €7,965 of this specifically spent on business-class travel for Dr Browne's wife
Almost €10,000 on tickets for Rugby Autumn and Six Nations International tickets
€21,200 via a donation to the NUI Galway rugby club

https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/nuig-fundraising-charity-spend-50k-on-business-class-flights-30k-on-taxis-investigation-finds-970811.html

ILoveYourVibes

Universities get away with absolute murder.

UCD put a govt levy on students for a new gym for years. Its now also a private members gym that they make money from ...and students can't use it at peak times.

All the students clubs were threatened and harassed about their funding like the drama soc etc imagine harassing drama peeps saying you will cut their funding unless they support your gym levy!

Students still pay this levy today and STILL can't use the gym at peak times.

http://collegetribune.ie/ucd-sports-clubs-told-to-support-student-levy-or-face-funding-cuts/

That gym is making a MINT off the state.

Plus if it were run like a commercial gym they wouldn't get away with half the stuff the staff get away with now.

suicide_circus

charity industry

Universities do get away with murder. I've seen some incredible stuff.



This does not surprise me. The taxi's to Dublin airport are exceptionally cheeky though.

ILoveYourVibes

suicide_circus wrote: »

charity industry

Its a combo of the uni industry and the charity industry. Lethal combo.

Its a world where someone can make 10k in a day for standing behind a table selling homemade cakes.

smelly sock

Who cares.

3bn on broadband to every back hole.

Childrens hospital costs soaring.

Chicken feed really.

ILoveYourVibes

smelly sock wrote: »

Who cares.

3bn on broadband to every back hole.

Childrens hospital costs soaring.

Chicken feed really.

Really? That is just ONE charity in NUIG which is ONE third level institution in Ireland.

Its the same in every uni and college union club and institution ..and in EVERY third level institution in Ireland. How many of those are there?

Still chicken feed?

TomSweeney

This is why I don't give one cent to any charities anymore.

Not one cent.

All of them CORRUPT!!!

LaFuton

money well spent, another 10k tinting windows wouldn't go astray, one way route to kfc parnell street

ILoveYourVibes

TomSweeney wrote: »

This is why I don't give one cent to any charities anymore.

Not one cent.

All of them CORRUPT!!!

Not all of them are.


You just have to be wise though.

Its best to give 5 euro a week to someone sleeping rough yourself hand to hand.

riffmongous

TomSweeney wrote: »

This is why I don't give one cent to any charities anymore.

Not one cent.

All of them CORRUPT!!!

Total bullshît. There are still loads of charities doing vital work

Padre_Pio

ILoveYourVibes wrote: »

Universities get away with absolute murder.

UCD put a govt levy on students for a new gym for years. Its now also a private members gym that they make money from ...and students can't use it at peak times.

I paid that gym levy for two years. It only opened two years after I left college.

ILoveYourVibes

Padre_Pio wrote: »

I paid that gym levy for two years. It only opened two years after I left college.

Sorry kiddo.

My bro was in the same position.

Jinglejangle69

Gravy train.

Everyone knows it.

I don't see the issue?

The trips were required and you hardly expect someone who is the equivalent of the CEO of a multinational to fly cattle class. His equivalent in a company would likely have use of a private jet.

Bog standard employees in many companies get business and first class on long haul, its only right when travelling for work and really all people from universities traveling long haul should get business class at a minimum but they are never allowed to which is crazy.

It barely exceeded the approved expenses level by less than 5k also. Non story really.

Assetbacked

The NGO and charity sectors in Ireland are a booming industry. There is an over representation compared to the actual issues in the country. Unfortunately, inventing new issues or perpetuating problems is good business.

marieholmfan

Adalynn Low Architecture wrote: »

I don't see the issue?

The trips were required and you hardly expect someone who is the equivalent of the CEO of a multinational to fly cattle class. His equivalent in a company would likely have use of a private jet.

Bog standard employees in many companies get business and first class on long haul, its only right when travelling for work and really all people from universities traveling long haul should get business class at a minimum.

It barely exceeded the approved expenses level by less than 5k also. Non story really.

I travel for work all the time and I never fly economy -unless that's the only class on the plane.

2lazytogetup

Padre_Pio wrote: »

I paid that gym levy for two years. It only opened two years after I left college.

that UCD new building levy was in place in 1997 before it was even built.

2lazytogetup

not surprised about charity paying for taxi rides. im starting to think that no-one has a conscience. From dole fraud, to tax fraud to expenses. FAI. People voting tories in the UK, Brazil leader, Trump. Cars not letting other cars pull out. Its all 'me,me,me,me'. The game has changed. there are new rules.

Cee-Jay-Cee

I couldn’t care less, I don’t give anything to charities anymore, none of them as they’re all rotten from the top down.

ILoveYourVibes

2lazytogetup wrote: »

that UCD new building levy was in place in 1997 before it was even built.

The way it was spent wasn't though. That changed.

It was also extended and increased.

The mortgage that the levy was to repay ends in 2023 ...so it was thought the levy would simply either end then be decreased or at least stay the same.

The opposite happened and will happen.

It will go up probably in 2023 despite the fact they will have no mortgage to repay at this point..

1o059k7ewrqj3n

Third-level colleges and universities in this country are the equivalent of toll road's on many peoples way to getting a degree to help them in their careers. They have no choice to pay exorbitant fees and other costs. LIT were paying personnel 72,000 euro a year when they actually had no functioning job, they performed no duties. They have barely functioning departments which wouldn't be good enough for PLC level yet the more on the books, the more funding can be drawn down - all the while every student coming in the door is charged 3k.

2lazytogetup

ILoveYourVibes wrote: »

The way it was spent wasn't though. That changed.

It was also extended and increased.

The mortgage that the levy was to repay ends in 2023 ...so it was thought the levy would simply either end then be decreased or at least stay the same.

The opposite happened and will happen.

It will go up probably in 2023 despite the fact they will have no mortgage to repay at this point..

at least people paying the levy now have the benefit of it. it was just a plot of land when the levy came in., the student centre wasnt built till around 2001 and the gym wasnt there till after 2006. so some people paid the levy for years even though it was just a plot of land.

chrissb8

smelly sock wrote: »

Who cares.

3bn on broadband to every back hole.

Childrens hospital costs soaring.

Chicken feed really.

It doesn't matter. The money wasted by NUIG could have been used to change someone's life for the better.

Instead some idiots thought going on the lash at the rugby was more important. Should be an inquiry of some sort into this. A joke what some charities are getting away with.

elefant

Adalynn Low Architecture wrote: »

I don't see the issue?

The trips were required and you hardly expect someone who is the equivalent of the CEO of a multinational to fly cattle class. His equivalent in a company would likely have use of a private jet.

Bog standard employees in many companies get business and first class on long haul, its only right when travelling for work and really all people from universities traveling long haul should get business class at a minimum but they are never allowed to which is crazy.

It barely exceeded the approved expenses level by less than 5k also. Non story really.

I agree to an extent, but the amount spent on spouses' travel and taxi costs is taking the piss.

And the excuse given that luxury hotels were needed to be well rested. Just own it, at least.

chrissb8

chrissb8 wrote: »

It doesn't matter. The money wasted by NUIG could have been used to change someone's life for the better.

Instead some idiots thought going on the lash at the rugby was more important. Should be an inquiry of some sort into this. A joke what some charities are getting away with.

You can be sure a lot more money was generated in donations from any of these trips or events than was spent on them, that's how the game works.

Gynoid

Look it, ye are very mean. There have to be lucrative admin positions for all the people graduating from money making institutions with useless makey uppy degrees. Be charitable.

Church on Tuesday

Universities are basically a business these days and honestly, it's starting to show.

chrissb8

Adalynn Low Architecture wrote: »

You can be sure a lot more money was generated in donations from any of these trips or events than was spent on them, that's how the game works.

They are a university based charitable organisation. Not Trocaire or Concern. The money spent is an absolute joke relative to what they are probably making.

Read through the articles online and it reads like the lavish lifestyle of executives of an MNC. 8k was spent on a spouse on one of the heads of the charitable organisaiton.

There's no issue with that money being spent, if it is indeed a self generating business.

If I were to give money to charity in good faith I would expect the majority of it to go to the cause you intend it to go to when you put your hand in your pocket.

I'm not stupid, charities are organisations and do need their own funding. So there would be overheads etc. There are levels to this and in this case this is an absolute p*** take.

nkl12xtw5goz70

moceri wrote: »

A further €24,145 on flights that included economy class tickets one way, and a business class return
An average of €385 per night on hotel accommodation, with the cost of hotels in many cases in excess of Revenue’s guidelines for overseas travel
A further €32,202 on flights and accommodation for guests
Almost €11,000 on ten trips for spouses of the foundation’s directors, with €7,965 of this specifically spent on business-class travel for Dr Browne's wife
Almost €10,000 on tickets for Rugby Autumn and Six Nations International tickets
€21,200 via a donation to the NUI Galway rugby club

https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/nuig-fundraising-charity-spend-50k-on-business-class-flights-30k-on-taxis-investigation-finds-970811.html

There's no way to know whether any of that is appropriate without knowing what the returns were on those trips, tickets, etc.

E.g., if spending €10,000 on rugby tickets to cultivate donors led to €250,000 in donations, it was a good investment. If they spent €10,000 to raise €5,000, it was a bad investment.

In this case, we're just given the expenses with the goal of provoking outrage, but with no sense of how much the charity raised because of them.

Padraig Mor

Adalynn Low Architecture wrote: »

You can be sure a lot more money was generated in donations from any of these trips or events than was spent on them, that's how the game works.

chrissb8 wrote: »

The money spent is an absolute joke relative to what they are probably making.
......

If I were to give money to charity in good faith I would expect the majority of it to go to the cause you intend it to go to when you put your hand in your pocket. .

Braydon Victorious Welt wrote: »

There's no way to know whether any of that is appropriate without knowing what the returns were on those trips, tickets, etc.

E.g., if spending €10,000 on rugby tickets to cultivate donors led to €250,000 in donations, it was a good investment. If they spent €10,000 to raise €5,000, it was a bad investment.
.

From the original article:

"Inspector Tom Murray noted that in many respects the Galway University Foundation appeared to be well-run, and has raised more than €146m in support of NUI Galway. Such funds have leverage matching funding of €65m from public and other sources, allowing NUI Galway to invest €200 million in research, training and educational access, he added.........He added that 100% of donor funds are invested in NUI Galway projects."

Doesn't seem like bad value to me.

smelly sock

When we consider what the likes of John O'Donoghue, John Delaney and Rody Molloy got away with this will end with a whimper. We have serious soft mentality and legal approach to corporate fraud. Also so many loopholes for these guys to exploit.

If a poor divil on the bones of his arse takes a few extra quid from the welfare he can expect a day in court at leaset.

Stovepipe

The Universities are like RTE,constantly playing the poor mouth. It wasnt that long ago that the Colleges deliberately broke pay guidlines for senior management and were also discovered to have hidden slush funds and the Govt bowed the knee instead of jailing a few of them.

Tony_Clifton

dont give to charity, its a complete con

Doc07

Braydon Victorious Welt wrote: »

There's no way to know whether any of that is appropriate without knowing what the returns were on those trips, tickets, etc.

E.g., if spending €10,000 on rugby tickets to cultivate donors led to €250,000 in donations, it was a good investment. If they spent €10,000 to raise €5,000, it was a bad investment.

In this case, we're just given the expenses with the goal of provoking outrage, but with no sense of how much the charity raised because of them.

Exactly, it’s crap journalism from both the Examiner and Claire Byrne Live. This organisation raised an average of 15mil per year for NUIG but it’s the 100,000 expenses over 3 years that makes the headlines.

zeebre12

Steyr 556 wrote: »

Third-level colleges and universities in this country are the equivalent of toll road's on many peoples way to getting a degree to help them in their careers. They have no choice to pay exorbitant fees and other costs. LIT were paying personnel 72,000 euro a year when they actually had no functioning job, they performed no duties. They have barely functioning departments which wouldn't be good enough for PLC level yet the more on the books, the more funding can be drawn down - all the while every student coming in the door is charged 3k.

Most are not paying 3k. I'm paying my 3k and I'm also paying Johnny and Mary's 3k as well. The parents that 'get up early in the morning' pay the full whack.

Ficheall

Church on Tuesday wrote: »

Universities are basically a business these days and honestly, it's starting to show been blindingly obvious for quite some time.

FYP.

Church on Tuesday

Ficheall wrote: »

FYP.

Even more so now though. Fees and general cost of third level education are the highest they have ever been.

Winning_Stroke

Yes, this is an absolute disgrace but let's be mindful that universities should not need to be going cap in hand to the public. They should be fully government funded.

suicide_circus

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

I couldn’t care less, I don’t give anything to charities anymore, none of them as they’re all rotten from the top down.

If you work and pay tax you do give to charity. Every payday you can smile to yourself knowing that you've done your good deed.

mikhail

Church on Tuesday wrote: »

Even more so now though. Fees and general cost of third level education are the highest they have ever been.

Core grants from the government were slashed a decade ago (more than halved) and haven't gone up a red cent since. The universities have responded primarily by targeting non-EU students, raising 'student levies' (fees by another name), and fundraising aggressively. Even so, a head of school in a major university recently told me he figures every university here but Trinity (who have a large endowment) is facing huge financial difficulties in the coming years.

The Tetrarch

Charity business
100 for me, 1 for you.

jmayo

moceri wrote: »

A further €24,145 on flights that included economy class tickets one way, and a business class return
An average of €385 per night on hotel accommodation, with the cost of hotels in many cases in excess of Revenue’s guidelines for overseas travel
A further €32,202 on flights and accommodation for guests
Almost €11,000 on ten trips for spouses of the foundation’s directors, with €7,965 of this specifically spent on business-class travel for Dr Browne's wife
Almost €10,000 on tickets for Rugby Autumn and Six Nations International tickets
€21,200 via a donation to the NUI Galway rugby club

https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/nuig-fundraising-charity-spend-50k-on-business-class-flights-30k-on-taxis-investigation-finds-970811.html

And why didn't the fookers donate to the other clubs ?
Oh yeah they like de rugby.

Nice to see old Jimmy Browne's missus is getting her flights paid for her.
BTW has she retired as lecturer by now ?

Why were the spouses flying around btw ?

And why the fook did he have to get taxis between Dublin and Galway ?

Talk about pulling the pi** and that is what it is, not as some around here try and spin it that these folks are somehow worth all that they spend.

Kinds reminds me how some not so long ago were lauding a certain sports chief and how he was worth the exorbitant salary and expense account. :rolleyes:

Also how can they state 100% of donor fund are invested if they have such high spending or is the taxpayer that pays these "necessary" costs ?

Anyway the bould Jimmy has really copped on to having the old head in the public trough.
His days as head of NUIG are gone, but just look at the table where he managed to get his feet under.

Yep he managed to get on as chairperson of the Childrens Hospital group Board.

Ireland is one small circle jerk.