IMO tax settlement of €118,000 follows Revenue audit

The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) has made a €118,000 tax settlement following an audit by the Revenue Commissioners.

The audit, which covered the years 2009 to 2012, resulted in a settlement of €118,419 in taxes, interest and penalties, according to the IMO’s accounts for 2013, published yesterday. A spokesman said the organisation would not be providing any further information about the nature of the settlement.

The organisation’s finances have been the subject of controversy after it was reported in late 2012 that former chief executive George McNeice received a total package of almost €10 million on his departure. It also emerged that the stipends paid to IMO presidents were set at around 25 per cent of the salary of the chief executive.

Pension commitments
According to the accounts, a settlement agreement was reached between the IMO and Mr McNeice during 2012, following detailed legal advice to the organisation. This provided for a termination payment of three years of salary paid in March 2013 and a pension over a 16-year period, starting in 2016. Some €1.495 million was paid out last year in respect of the termination payment and €2.682 million in deferred pension commitments.

In addition, Mr McNeice’s pension fund amounts to €4.5 million.

Directors’ remuneration and fees fell from €139,000 in 2012 to €52,000 last year, according to the accounts. The annual stipend for the IMO president has been cut from €108,000 to €35,000, while stipends for membership of various management committees were reduced from €7,500 to €3,000.

Almost €3 million was written off the value of the organisation’s headquarters at Fitzwilliam Place in Dublin after a property valuation, the accounts also show.

The 2013 accounts show the IMO made a small surplus of €31,212 for the year, compared to a loss of over €6 million in 2012. Reserves now stand at over €3.3 million.

Membership grew by 22 per cent, to 6,196, largely due to greater participation by non-consultant hospital doctors who were involved in a campaign of industrial action over the length of their working week. However, subscription income still fell from €3.3 million to €3 million because membership dues for NCHDs were reduced.

IMO honorary treasurer Prof Sean Tierney said that during 2013 the organisation consolidated its financial position following "exceptional" financial issues in 2012.