€200,000 Figure spent by National Gallery in a severance agreement for one staff member, with PAC now poised to investigate the payout
THE National Gallery paid out more than €200,000 in a severance agreement – including legal costs – for one staff member in 2022.
That is according to the recently signed-off 2022 annual report for the National Gallery, which details how the unnamed member of staff received €141,125 in the severance settlement in 2022.
The Dáil’s public spending watchdog is now poised to investigate the deal, following a slew of recent controversies over exit payments at public bodies.
The National Gallery falls under the remit of Minister for Arts and Media Catherine Martin, who herself has come under pressure after it was revealed her former secretarygeneral left with a severance package worth €219,000.
This emerged after Ms Martin expressed frustration with RTÉ over confidential exit packages that were agreed by the new director general, Kevin Bakhurst.
Mr Bakhurst admitted last month that two senior executives who left the national broadcaster since controversies there erupted departed with golden handshakes. However, RTÉ cannot reveal the amount paid to the executives as there were confidentiality agreements attached, which the minister said should be used only in exceptional circumstances.
A note attached to the National Gallery’s accounts states that, as well as the payout, legal costs of €61,158 ‘were also incurred in relation to concluding the termination agreement’. The total cost to the National Gallery of the severance agreement was €202,283.
No details are provided in the annual report about the circumstances of the departure of the staff member or if the settlement included a confidentiality clause.
A spokesman for the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media confirmed yesterday that, in relation to the €141,125 payment, all steps were completed under a Government circular relating to severance payments. In such cases, the parent department must refer such requests to the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform for approval.
The spokesman said: ‘These steps were all completed in respect of the severance arrangement at the National Gallery of Ireland.’
In response to queries about the payout, a spokeswoman for the gallery said: ‘The gallery has no comment.’
Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy confirmed on Friday that she has written to the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee requesting that it writes to the National Gallery ‘for further clarity’.
In her letter, Ms Murphy asked whether a Non-Disclosure Agreement was entered into and for ‘some background context that led to the payment’.
Concerns have previously been raised over the use of such agreements by RTÉ.
Ms Murphy is also seeking a breakdown of the legal costs connected to the case.
She said: ‘The settlement payment of €141,125 may well be proportionate compensation for whatever the issue was but I find the legal bill attached to it quite significant on top of the payout.’
The annual report shows that the National Gallery received €15.38million in Oireachtas grant funding in 2022 – a 12.6% increase on the €13.65million received in 2021. The gallery recorded an operating surplus of €6.18million after its costs came to €14.62million. The €141,125 severance payment contributed to staff costs increasing by 6% to €9.39million. Numbers employed at the gallery rose from 166 to 173. It had 788,000 visitors in 2022 – more than 3% more than in 2019.
‘Find the legal bill quite significant’