A “significant amount” of material relating to the suicide prevention charity Console has been retrieved from a lock-up in Co Kildare following a tip-off from a member of the public.
The records were retrieved after the Console interim chief executive, David Hall, obtained a High Court noticeorder allowing him to break into the 10ft x 8ft unit in Naas.
Minister for Health Simon Harris, who has described the revelations at Console as “disgusting and disturbing”, is to brief Cabinet on Tuesday on the issue.
Not adversely affected
Mr Harris said his priority was to ensure services provided by the charity were not adversely affected. “That is the challenge for the HSE and one which I expect they will deliver on.”
Meanwhile, it emerged gardaí have known about the issues raised in a HSE audit of Console for almost five months.
Minister of State at the Department of Health, Helen McEntee, said the HSE reported the audit to gardaí in mid-February and have since provided officers with a copy of the report.
Ms McEntee said she planned to meet Mr Hall and Console’s trustees in the coming days.
Mr Hall was alerted to the existence of the unit when a member of the public contacted him to say he had seen the charity’s founder, Paul Kelly, there last Tuesday.
At this point, Mr Hall had been appointed by Console’s board to take over the running of the charity, but Mr Kelly maintained he was still in control.
Lavish spending
Revelations of lavish spending and poor governance at the charity emerged over the past week and caused widespread shock and disgust.
Mr Kelly and two other board members have resigned and at least five State bodies are investigating the charity.
Mr Hall sought the order from Mr Justice Paul Gilligan after the source of the tip-off was “very clear as to what he saw” at the lock-up.
After the locks were broken, “a significant amount of material relevant to the running of any business” was retrieved, Mr Hall told RTÉ’s Drivetime.
All items were photographed, sealed, bagged and checked by a forensic security team, he said.
They were to be opened in a secure area this evening, and a full report made to Mr Justice Gilligan in court on Tuesday.
At the weekend, Mr Hall met a representative of Mr Kelly and his wife Patricia and took possession of items belonging to the charity, including credit cards, cheque books and two cars.
Mr Hall is to due to meet the HSE on Tuesday.
The HSE funds the suicide helplines and counselling services provided by Console.
Mr Hall said “radical decisions” need to be made this week about the charity. “The service will be kept open, whatever has to happen,” he said.
