Console still owes Revenue Commissioners about €90,000

Suicide prevention charity Console owes the Revenue Commissioners about €90,000 in respect of outstanding PAYE/PRSI contributions, according to its bookkeeper.

There were "heavy" personal expenses within the charity and getting information on expenses claims was "a perennial issue," bookkeeper Joe Condron is quoted as saying in an interim report on the current state of the organisation.

Mr Condron said that while he was close to finalising the 2015 account, former chief executive Paul Kelly and his wife Patricia had neglected so far to give him details of cheque payments on one bank account and were "slow with providing information".

No management accounts were available for 2016 and there were “poor” levels of documentary proofs for claims.

According to the report by two external reviewers, Mr Condron noted that Mr and Mrs Kelly kept the main books and records and that he had to send down staff members “on spec” to get items which were locked away.

Last Monday, a staff member contacted the two reviewers to say someone had been in the office over the weekend and that some records were missing from a cabinet that was normally locked but which was now open.

A number of critical operational issues were also raised by a member of staff. He said he needed to pay money off the phone bill using his company credit card to keep the lines open. A number of creditors had unpaid debts outstanding for some time and wages were paid on a “sporadic” basis, he said.

Other matters raised related to creditor demands, fundraiser queries and landlord issues.

“Given the lack of leadership in the company, we were concerned by the obvious lack of management direction in Console,” the report states. As a result, the two reviewers contacted the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement to highlight their concerns.