THE GOVERNMENT’S overseas development division has agreed a sum of almost €12.5 million in 2012 funding for aid agency Goal, which was recently beset by an internal dispute that resulted in the stepping down of its founder John O’Shea.
Goal’s acting chief operations officer Jonathan Edgar said the funding represented the first tranche of a four-year contract between Irish Aid and the organisation as it entered what he described as “a new era”.
In July, Mr O’Shea went to the High Court to prevent the board of Goal removing him as chief executive.
After three weeks of talks, a settlement was agreed under which Mr O’Shea would step down at the end of August.