The Health Service Executive (HSE) deducted €100,000 from an autism charity in 2019 as a “value improvement payment” after concerns were raised about its financial governance.
Autism a Chara, which until this year traded as Autism Initiatives Ireland, provides specialist care and support for adults with autism in the Republic.
In 2019, concerns were raised by a former Irish charity official about the alleged transfer of €1,522,778 from the HSE-funded organisation’s cash reserves to its UK parent company over a four-year period.
The HSE announced earlier this year that it was reviewing the governance and funding of the organisation in light of the allegations.
RM Block
In a briefing note to the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee (PAC), dated September 24th, the HSE said from 2018 it had “ongoing engagement with Autism Initiatives Ireland regarding financial governance, use of reserves, cross-charges/management fees and funding for business supports”.
“In April 2018, Autism Initiatives Ireland formally set out its position to the HSE regarding the use of reserves for central business costs,” the note said.
“From early 2019, concerns were raised by the HSE regarding the scale and use of reserves, specifically the apportionment of central/management charges from the UK parent organisation, and transparency in financial reporting.”
The HSE said the matters were “discussed extensively” at meetings during 2019 and an independent external review was commissioned by Autism a Chara.
“It concluded that the board and senior management had acted appropriately, that the central cost recharge arrangements represented value for money and that there was no evidence that any funder, including the HSE, had been adversely affected,” the note said.
“The review found the shared services model to be cost-effective, equitable and beneficial to operational charities, with the allocation methodology considered fair and reasonable.”
“Notwithstanding” the assurances, the HSE continued to engage with the organisation regarding the HSE’s “authority to seek a contribution from reserves” in the context of wider governance.
“In 2019, the HSE sought a once-off value improvement contribution of €100,000, which was subsequently deducted from Autism Initiatives Ireland’s funding allocation,” the note said.
“In 2020 Autism Initiatives Ireland absorbed service cost pressures within their funding allocation including invoices relating to the changing needs of two individuals.”
[ Autism charity under review told HSE it was ‘transitioning away’ from UK parentOpens in new window ]
An earlier letter to the committee showed the HSE provided €46.415 million in total to the organisation in the years between 2022 and 2025.
In internal correspondence within the charity, the official had alleged the €1.5 million was transferred in three ways, claiming €973,400 was transferred on one occasion after the charity’s Northern Ireland branch issued a “recharge for services rendered”.
Alongside an alleged €200,000 charge from the UK parent group on the proceeds from the sale of a property owned by the Irish charity, the official alleged there was a “current annual recharge” from the UK arm for services rendered, further claiming that no services were requested or approved.
The charity said concerns were raised in 2019 “in relation to the recharge to a UK company”, but that an independent auditor found “no substance” to them and that the processes regarding recharging were “robust and represent value for money”.
[ Alleged transfer of €1.5m by autism body to UK parent charity ‘possibly criminal’Opens in new window ]
Autism a Chara confirmed it received a “formal request” in July 2019 to make a “formal cost savings contribution” to the HSE.
Following this, the organisation “subsequently absorbed service cost pressures within their funding allocation”.
In a statement earlier this year, the Irish charity said it had transitioned away from its UK parent in March due to “divergence between the Irish and UK governance and regulatory environments for disability services”.
Noting it had received funding from the HSE for more than 17 years, the charity said it had “fully complied” with the health service’s monitoring and reporting requirements, which are “constantly checked and scrutinised by the HSE”.
