Three years after the CRC scandal, HSE has not even started auditing charities

THE HSE has yet to start auditing controversial Section 39 agencies – which get grants from the HSE for providing services – despite the recent Console charity scandal.

It told Labour’s Alan Kelly, in response to a parliamentary question, that it does not know how many people will audit our scandal-ridden Section 38 and 39 charities.

Staff at Section 39 organisations, which provide services similar to those already provided by the State, are not considered public servants and are not paid on the public salary scale.

However, staff employed by Section 39 agencies, which offer services other than those provided by the HSE, must be paid in accordance with public pay scales.

In a written response to questions from Mr Kelly, the HSE said it ‘is not possible to identify’ the number of accountants, financial controllers and auditors ‘monitoring the funding system to Section 38 and Section 39 organisations’.

Mr Kelly had asked the Health Minister if the HSE employs enough accountants, financial controllers and auditors to monitor the funding of Section 38 and Section 39 organisations.

The HSE revealed that – three years after the Central Remedial Clinic scandal raised fundamental questions about how charities are funded – its review of Section 38s will not be concluded until the end of next year.

The State body added that, despite the recent CRC, Rehab and Console controversies, full auditing of Section 39 charities by its compliance unit has not even begun. It also revealed that it had to recruit external auditors to investigate Section 38 charities, such as the CRC.

Just last week, it was revealed that a HSE review had been launched into Ataxia Ireland – which provides support for people with Friedreich’s ataxia and other genetic ataxias – following a complaint about financial irregularities.

The HSE said it has ‘engaged an external specialist consultancy firm to carry out a detailed governance review of all S38 agencies’.

Mr Kelly told the Irish Mail on Sunday: ‘This is a grave and unacceptable example of how, once again, the HSE hierarchy is failing to impose proper fiscal accountability on organisations that have demonstrably failed to protect clients, donors and taxpayers.’

The Labour TD said: ‘I am astonished by this lack of accountability. In the wake of scandals such as Console and CRC, HSE auditors should be going through charities like a dose of salts. The HSE appear to be flying blind without a plan or a road map.’

Mr Kelly also warned that the HSE had questions to answer about the low number of qualified accountants it employs.

The HSE’s national finance division employs 88 qualified accountants – who will be expected to audit all 47 public hospitals, alongside the HSE’s national primary care, social care, mental health and health and wellbeing divisions.

Mr Kelly expressed particular concern that the HSE’s internal audit division has only 20 qualified accountants.

‘The capacity of such low numbers to adequately audit the €13bn budget must come into question,’ he said.

A HSE spokesman said: ‘It is expected that the external reviews of all Section 38 providers will be completed by September 2017.’