Rehab revelations warrant further scrutiny – O’Donovan

Fine Gael Limerick TD, Patrick O’Donovan, has today (Wednesday) said that the revelations surrounding extremely low profit margins at Rehab Lotteries warrant further scrutiny. Deputy O’Donovan made his comments in the aftermath of a contribution by the Minister for Justice, Alan Shatter TD, to a Dáil debate on charities last night.

“I am very concerned at the revelations about low profit margins at Rehab. It is hard to understand how scratch card sales worth almost €4 million in one year could generate a profit of less than €10,000.

“It is perfectly reasonable for people buying Rehab scratch cards and lottery tickets to expect the vast majority of their money to be used for charitable purposes. However, given the sums that were reported in the Dáil last night I believe that there is a need to provide details on where the money from these tickets went.

“There is an onus on Rehab to fully explain how these monies have been spent, and why their profit margins are so low. Public confidence in the charities sector has taken a serious battering due to the devastating revelations about the Central Remedial Clinic. I believe that these reports in respect of Rehab will do nothing to restore the sector’s reputation and leave further questions to be answered.

“The public deserves answers, which must be set out in full by Rehab. The Public Accounts Committee is the most appropriate forum for this process to take place and I would hope that my colleagues on that Committee will pursue this issue.”

ENDS