Harris calls on Rehab to reveal all senior salaries now – not in 2016

Fine Gael Wicklow TD and member of the Public Accounts Committee, Simon Harris, has today (Tuesday) called on the Rehab board to immediately reveal the pay of all of its senior staff. Deputy Harris added that it is completely unacceptable that Rehab has said that it won’t reveal pay details of top managers until its 2015 accounts are published in 2016.

“The approach being taken by Rehab is not in anyone’s interest; it is not in the interest of ordinary Rehab staff members, the people who use their services, or taxpayers. Rehab benefits from tens of millions of euro in taxpayers’ money each year, and it also benefits significantly from its charitable status. It is vital that the Rehab board respects this reality and does nothing to jeopardise it.  

“Partial transparency is not transparency. I welcome the fact that the salary of Rehab’s chief executive has finally been published, but we are a long way from having a complete picture of how senior managers at the organisation are paid.

“We are spending more than €3 billion on Section 38 and Section 39 organisations every year. I welcome the fact that the Government and the Public Accounts Committee are working to shine a light on this sector, which has been in the dark for too long. Full transparency is essential.

“The Rehab group does amazing work in every constituency across the country. I have seen first-hand how the services it provides has the potential to transform lives. It is not in the interest of staff members or service users that a level of secrecy continues to pervade the organisation.

“Rehab may contend that a significant portion of its operations is commercial, but there is no getting away from the fact that Rehab has charitable status and received more than €80 million in State funding last year. I hope the board of Rehab will reflect on their position regarding the publication of pay details of senior staff members, and I hope they will address the issue in full.

“Representatives from Rehab are due to appear before the Public Accounts Committee in the coming weeks. Will they again seek to delay the inevitable by refusing to reveal salary levels of senior staff? It took six weeks for Rehab to reveal the salary of its chief executive. The organisation must not continue to drag its heels if it is serious about ensuring there is full transparency across the charities sector.”

ENDS