Disability group issues protective notice to staff

A NATIONAL disability organisation that has accumulated debts of over €350,000 is in the process of being wound down, The Irish Timeshas learned.

People with Disabilities in Ireland (PwDI) yesterday placed its six staff on protective notice and it is understood the company is preparing to notify its creditors that it has no money and no indication of further funding being granted in the near future to help carry on its operations.

PwDI’s chief executive, Michael Ringrose, is at the centre of a dispute with the Government, which wants to cut his annual salary of some €150,000 by nearly half.

Mr Ringrose, a former Garda chief superintendent, is refusing to accept the proposed reduction in salary of some €60,000 and is contesting the Department of Justice request through his lawyers.

Pensions for retired gardaí at this rank are typically in excess of €60,000 a year.

Mr Ringrose’s three-year contract was renewed by the PwDI board at the beginning of November. His salary, which is equivalent to that of an assistant secretary in the Civil Service, was set by PwDI’s board three years ago.

An unpublished value-for-money audit of PwDI by the Department of Justice is understood to raise concern over the proportion of public money spent by the organisation on salaries and administration.

The draft report says in excess of 30 per cent of PwDI’s Government funding is allocated to salaries for its six employees, a Government source said.

A spokesman for the Department of Justice told The Irish Timesyesterday it would cease funding PwDI until issues arising from the audit were addressed.

“The Department of Justice has informed PwDI that until the issue of pay for the chief executive is resolved, it will not be providing funding,” the spokesman said.

However, he stated the department is not withdrawing funding from the sector and will directly fund disability organisations if required. PwDI receives some €1.4 million in funding from the department each year.

Mr Ringrose said yesterday that he regretted he was “seriously constrained” in what he could say as his legal representatives were involved in correspondence.

PwDI director Tom King yesterday said the organisation would like Mr Ringrose to take a pay cut but he was resisting the proposal. Mr King said people who used PwDI’s services earned only €210 a week.

“At this stage I would ask Michael Ringrose to consider the person on the street who has nothing”.

Mr King also told RTÉ radio that he felt a reduction in Mr Ringrose salary could help the organisation overcome some of its problems, including debts of €351,134.

The organisation employs four people in its Dublin office and is currently renting two properties in the city, one of which has not been in use for some time.

The Irish Timesunderstands that PwDI pays some €80,000 in rent, rates and service charges annually for the unused property at Richmond Square, off Morningstar Avenue.