Mr Brian Kerr:

I thank the Chairman. I am joined today by my colleagues, Mr. Declan Doyle, chairman of the remuneration committee, Mr. Hugh Governey and Mr. Liam Hogan, Rehab Group board members and members of the remuneration committee, and Mr. Keith Poole, director of finance and company secretary. Members will note that neither Ms Angela Kerins nor Mr. Frank Flannery is in attendance today. We wrote to both to determine if they would attend. Both Ms Kerins and Mr. Flannery have confirmed that they are not in a position to attend. Unfortunately, we cannot compel them to attend. With permission, I will make an initial statement and then ask my colleagues, Mr. Declan Doyle and Mr. Keith Poole, to make specific statements that will address issues raised at, and since, the committee's meeting on 27 February.

In recent weeks, the board of the Rehab Group has been reflecting on the difficult period that the organisation has been through in recent months. The stark fact is that the reputation of Rehab has been seriously damaged. We recognise that our response as a board to recent political and public demands for information has been inadequate, in particular because of the legal constraints that the board is under in disclosing information about the terms and conditions of some senior people. In part, this is because the business and governance structure of the Rehab Group was not adequate to manage a challenging and changing situation. In addition, we recognise that, as a board, we have not exercised strict and appropriate oversight of certain issues that have come to public attention in recent weeks.

The board's priority is to initiate a programme of transformation and change that will allow us to candidly confront the issues before us and to rebuild the reputation, staff morale and effectiveness of the organisation. Importantly, this programme of change must strive to recover the confidence and trust of the people who use our services, our staff, the people of Ireland who fund us, including the Government, and other stakeholders, not least our colleagues in the charity sector who have suffered because of the fallout over the current controversy.

As a matter of urgency, we are committed to making whatever changes are necessary, including changes to the board, to ensure the organisation can have the full confidence of those who use our services and those who fund us. This journey will not be completed overnight but the board believes that, if we set the right strategic direction and remain committed to that path, success can be achieved and a new dawn will emerge for Rehab. A critical part of the recovery strategy is that we initiate a root and branch review and an urgent transformation of how Rehab is governed and conducts its affairs. In simple terms, this means asking an external expert of repute and integrity to advise us on how best to address the following questions. What changes do we need to initiate in order to renew the board, and the way it works, so that we have the right skill set and the right procedures for providing the quality of oversight required in an organisation of our size and complexity, operating in the charity sector? How best can we increase the degree of transparency about what we do and, for example, how people are paid across the organisation, so that we not only meet but exceed reasonable expectations and regulatory requirements? Does the current structure of the group support the long-term mission of Rehab in a rapidly changing regulatory environment? How can the board function so that it supports and upholds the core values and principles of Rehab? We have engaged Dr. Eddie Molloy to conduct and lead us in this review and transformation programme. The process will include engagement with staff to ensure their concerns are addressed in the unfolding reforms.

On behalf of the other board members here, I wish to address our non-attendance at this committee on 27 February. Following initial correspondence from the committee, it was decided that Ms Kerins, Ms Kelly, Ms Keane and Mr. McGuire were the people best placed to deal with the agenda items listed by the committee and they set about preparing accordingly. As a result of miscommunication and misunderstanding within Rehab, the team coming before the Committee of Public Accounts was not changed following the e-mail of 20 February from the Committee of Public Accounts.

We accept this was an error on Rehab's part and we regret any offence felt by the committee arising from our non-attendance.

Before handing over to my colleagues, I would like to address some questions which have arisen about the election of the board. The Rehab board is a company limited by guarantee, with 12 volunteer board members. Members are elected for three years and can serve three terms. The chairman is elected on an annual basis and can serve a maximum of six terms. The board recognises that it has been remiss on renewing the board membership, that this is a priority area, and it has asked Dr. Molloy to assist us with refreshing the board as soon as possible. As I mentioned earlier, one of the key issues on which Dr. Molloy has been asked to advise us relates to the changes we need to initiate in order to renew the board and the way it works so that we have the right skill set and the procedure for providing the quality of oversight required in an organisation of the size and complexity of Rehab operating in the charity sector.

I will ask Mr. Declan Doyle, chairman of the remuneration committee, to speak on that committee's work.