Gardaí examining suicide charity Console’s use of funds

Gardaí are examining the use of funds at the suicide charity Console amid concerns over financial management.

The examination comes as the Health Service Executive is considering future funding options for Console following a recently completed audit.

Console has received about €2.5 million from the HSE over the past five years for providing suicide prevention services.

Sources have told The Irish Times that concerns about the charity have been referred to the Garda following a dispute between Console and auditors working on behalf of the HSE.

The HSE said its National Office for Suicide Prevention (NOSP) asked the HSE’s internal audit unit to conduct an audit over concerns that arose following an examination of the 2013 returns from the charity to the HSE. These documents were received by the HSE in late 2014.

“Concerns arose in a number of areas including corporate governance in the organisation and financial management,” said the HSE.

Board members

A report by the RTÉ Investigations Unit to be broadcast on

Prime Time

tonight will say the charity, in documents submitted to funders, claimed as board members people who did not hold those positions.

One of these was former senator Jillian van Turnhout who told RTÉ she was “stunned” her name had been used and said it was “hugely alarming that any charity would purport that anyone is on the board who is not on their board”.

Efforts by The Irish Times to reach the founder and chief executive of Console, Paul Kelly, over the past week were unsuccessful. Its former media advisers yesterday said they were no longer acting for it.

The HSE said the audit of Console, which commenced in April last year, had recently been finalised. It said the results were being examined by HSE senior management.

The HSE said some concerns in relation to Console had been raised as far back as 2009, “which resulted in certain control actions taken by NOSP”.

“A robust governance framework is now followed in respect of all funded organisations in line with grant aid and service level agreements,” it said.

The Garda involvement has only begun in recent days and it is unclear as yet what the main focus of its inquiries will be, according to sources.