Fianna Fáil councillor, Aengus O’Rourke, has slammed the heads of charities in receipt of large annual salaries, some in excess of €250,000.
Speaking at Monday’s meeting of the Athlone Municipal District, Cllr O’Rourke said that a number of well-known charities have hit the headlines recently “for all the wrong reasons”. He remarked that all is not what it seems when it comes to donating money, and criticised the hefty salaries, company cars, and sky-high bonuses meted out to those at the very top.
Cllr O’Rourke criticised the charities themselves for damaging the reputation of charitable giving in general. He said that genuine people who want to help are feeling stigmatised due to revelations that large portions of donated monies are swelling the bank accounts of already wealthy people.
Cllr O’Rourke called on the council to write to the Minister for Finance to suggest the capping of salaries at between €70,000 and €90,000. He also suggested including a request for full disclosure of the salaries paid out by charitable organisations.
Independent councillor Michael O’Brien, echoed Cllr O’Rourke’s concerns. He described the salaries of charity top dogs as “sickening” and “immoral” and supported the motion to open correspondence with the Minister on the matter.
Fine Gael councillor John Dolan said the salaries of people at the top of charitable organisations are being looked after first, with only the leftovers being distributed to those who truly need it. He added that it is “beyond belief” that someone working for a charity could earn more than the Taoiseach of Dáil Éireann, and supported Cllr O’Rourke’s motion to write to the Minister.
