Temple Bar Trust to discuss chief’s Derry resignation

The board of Temple Bar Cultural Trust (TBCT) will discuss the unexpected resignation of its chief executive from his seconded post as project director of Derry UK City of Culture at its next meeting on April 10th or beforehand.

Dermot McLaughlin had been seconded to Derry for a year, but announced his resignation for “personal reasons” last Friday after five months in office. He then told trust chairman Dáithí Ó Ceallaigh of his intention to return to work in Dublin on May 7th.

Mr Ó Ceallaigh circulated board members to inform them that Mr McLaughlin “has resigned from his seconded position in Northern Ireland and that he intends to return to TBCT in early May. I propose we discuss this development at our next board meeting”. Efforts to contact Mr McLaughlin last night were unsuccessful.

It is expected that a motion will be proposed to suspend Mr McLaughlin pending full consideration by the board of a Dublin City Council audit report, which found serious corporate governance failures at the trust, and further investigation of company credit card use.

Salary
Mr McLaughlin's salary as trust chief executive was €103,730 in 2011. He was being paid €123,000 to serve for a year as project director of Derry UK City of Culture – not by the organisation directly, but by Northern Ireland's Strategic Investment Board.

In October, he said his secondment was “a chance to bring to Derry some of the learning and experience I’ve picked up from my brilliant team here in TBCT” and he looked forward to contributing “over the next year” .

Derry-born Mr McLaughlin told the Derry Journal on November 2nd that he had been "introduced" to the UK City of Culture project "to bring my expertise to this process . . . My job is to be a linchpin to pull together all the compound parts of this huge project". The Belfast Telegraph, wrote he was "head-hunted" for the post and would "work closely with Derry City Council chief executive Sharon O'Connor and Culture Company head Shona McCarthy to oversee the implementation of the massive programme".

The announcement of his arrival in Derry was a surprise to others involved in the Culture Company, but the Strategic Investment Board said “the business case for the appointment was approved in line with normal procedures”.

Last Saturday, following news of his resignation (to take effect on April 30th), Mr McLaughlin responded on Twitter to another user: “I’ve made my contribution. I am delighted to have had the opportunity to help. Big job done here, big one to do at tbct”.

Former TBCT chairman Matt McNulty, who was replaced in January 2012 by Mr Ó Ceallaigh, now chairs Derry's Ilex urban regeneration company which, like the Strategic Investment Board, is controlled by the Office of First Minister and Deputy First Minister. He has been on its board since 2008.

One of the findings of Dublin City Council’s audit was that there was no documentation available showing that its chief executive and two senior staff had employment contract, even though Mr McLaughlin had been in office since January 2003.

This was regularised on January 16th last by a letter from Mr Ó Ceallaigh confirming the terms of his employment at TBCT: "As you know, as CEO you have not been able to locate your written contract and therefore this letter confirms the existing position."

Council audit
The council's audit – conducted at the behest of the trust's sole shareholder, Dublin city manager John Tierney – revealed questionable accountancy practices, undeclared fringe benefits for senior staff and serious breaches of the Companies Acts.

The most serious charge in the 37-page report was that the trust’s board minutes and/or papers were “not available” to show it had approved an application for €2.5 million in loans from Ulster Bank for the rainscreen project in Meeting House Square. Yet a “certified extract” was provided to Ulster Bank to secure loan facilities to finance the project, saying that the board had “considered the terms of the facility letter” and resolved that the company should avail of it.