Parents of St John of God school children demand salary details

Parents of special needs children at a St John of God-run school have demanded the charity reveal the names and salaries of all executives who received top-up payments.

The St John of God Group defended the once-off payments totalling €1.64 million it made to senior managers in 2013. It said making the payments - which were between €50,000 and €600,000 each - to 14 executives, was “the correct thing to do” as they discharged contractual obligations with the managers.

In a joint statement, parents of children attending St Raphael’s Special School in Co Kildare said they were “furious” about the revelations.

Aisling McNiffe, whose son Jack (11) is a pupil, said she was “disgusted” that some executives were “lining their own pockets while my son and many other children and adults who attend the school/services in St Raphael’s suffer cuts”.

Brian and Deirdre Kiernan, parents of Kate (12), said it was “unjust and immoral” that services to vulnerable children and adults were being cut “while the executives of the very same service” were secretly topping up their remuneration.

Philip and Chris Hannon, parents of Mary (10), said the “sense of betrayal” was “intense” as some senior executives who informed parents of cutbacks “were at the same time receiving secret top-ups to their salaries”.

Michael and Lorna Collins, parents of Seán (10), said adult services have been “cut, day services, respite, a bus service, maple room canteen, snatched away from the most vulnerable, mostly non-verbal clients”.

Una and John Barrett, parents of Conor (17), said it was “shocking to think money was put into their pensions and not the goodwill of the young adults”.

Caroline and Kieran Prendergast, parents of Conor (10), said the topping up of pensions was a “disgraceful decisions” given services such as transport were being cut.

As a section 38 charity, in receipt of €130 million from the HSE a year, St John of Gods signed a service level agreement which states it “shall not pay nor subsidise salaries, expenses or other prerequisites which exceed those normally paid within the public sector.”