Rehab Group

The Rehab Group is an international not-for-profit organisation providing health and social care, training and education, rehabilitation, employment and commercial services.[6] Operating primarily in Ireland and the United Kingdom, it was originally established in 1949 as the Rehabilitation Institute, and provided training services to people with tuberculosis. In 2014 and 2015, a number of controversies involving the Rehab Group (and several other charities in Ireland) resulted in the resignation of the organisation's then CEO, a reduction in donations to several charities, and changes to the regulation of charities in Ireland.[7][8][9]

Rehab Group
PredecessorRehabilitation Institute
Formation1949[1]
Founded atDublin, Ireland[1]
TypeNonprofit
Registration no.20006716 (Charities Regulator of Ireland)[2]
1012691 (Charity Commission for England and Wales)[3]
Legal statusCharity
Purpose"provides services for [..] people with disabilities or disadvantage in their communities throughout Ireland and the UK"[1]
Location
  • Dublin, Ireland
CEO
Barry McGinn[4]
Revenue (2019)
€146,083,000[2]
Staff (2018)
106[5]
Websitehttps://www.rehab.ie/

Services

The organisation operates in several countries and provides services to people with disabilities (physical, sensory and intellectual), people with autism, people with acquired brain injury, people with mental health issues, older people, carers and others who are marginalised.

In Ireland, Rehab Group operates through a number of divisions. These include RehabCare (a health and social care division providing resource centres, residential and supported accommodation, outreach and respite care services),[10] National Learning Network (a training and employment provider),[11] and Rehab Enterprises (a commercial provider of recycling, logistics, packaging and retail services).[12] The latter is described by the charity as "Ireland's largest non-government employer of people with disabilities".

In the United Kingdom, Rehab Group operates through a number of organisations. These include TBG Learning (a training and employment provider of learning and employability supports to people in Wales and England),[13] Momentum (a rehabilitation, training and care service provider operating in Scotland and England),[14] and the Chaseley Trust (which operates a residential home and independent living accommodation in Eastbourne).[15] A further division, Rehab JobFit, is a partnership which supports the Department for Work and Pensions in delivering the Work Programme and the Mandatory Work Activity Programme in Wales and South West England.[16]

In the Netherlands and Poland, the Rehab group provides service through its Rehab Enterprises division. In Poland, this division provides logistics, computer keyboard printing and electronic equipment repair services, while in the Netherlands, it manages product returns for software manufacturers.

Controversies

Salaries

In 2014 and 2015, there was significant controversy when it was revealed that Rehab Chief Executive Angela Kerins was in receipt of a "high" salary of €240,000 and that former board member Frank Flannery had been paid more than €400,000 in "consultancy fees".[17] It was also reported that the charity had used state funds (intended for charitable purposes) to lease cars for its staff.[18] Following additional focus on the low profits from the charity's lotteries, Kerins retired "due to the impact of the controversies on the Rehab Group and on her family".[19] In December 2015 it was reported that donations dropped by "36 per cent [..] in the wake of the pay scandal".[17] Other charities also reported a drop in donations attributed to "mismanagement" in Rehab and other charities such as the Central Remedial Clinic.[7] Rehab's reputation in Ireland was also described as "tarnished" in 2017, after the Irish Times revealed that the charity's fundraising scratchcard scheme was performing extremely poorly and that "Rehab had made profits of only €9,452 on €4 million in scratchcard sales".[20]

Protests

In November 2018 a group of twenty people occupied the Rehab offices in Park West (Dublin), protesting over the lack of supports offered to people with polio. The protestors claimed that following a merger with the Polio Fellowship of Ireland, Rehab possessed €8m in assets and income, which was not being used to support people with polio. They claimed that "these assets were bought with funds raised by polio survivors, their families and friends. Only 7 per cent of this money has been spent on people who had polio".[21]

Incidents and investigations

In early 2020 it was reported that the charity was investigating an "alleged fraud" involving one of its wholly-owned subsidiaries.[22]

In March 2022 the group advised the Data Protection Commissioner that it was the target of a ransomware attack.[23] and since then external specialists have been examining their systems.[23] Ossian Smyth told RTÉ News that the attackers had tried to get patient details and financial information,[23] but that there was no evidence that it had been misused or that scams had been reported in connection with the attack.[23] As of late March 2020, there had been no disruption of services.[23]

Patronage
Further information: People of the Year Awards

From 1975 until 2018, the group organised the "People of the Year Awards". This was a set of awards which recognised contributions to Irish and international society.

See also

References
  1. "History of Rehab". rehab.ie. Rehab Group. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  2. "Rehab Group - Registered Charity Number (RCN): 20006716". charitiesregulator.ie. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  3. "REHAB, Charity number: 1012691". charitycommission.gov.uk. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  4. "Leadership Team". rehab.ie. Rehab Group. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  5. "The Rehab Group - Directors' Annual Report and Consolidated Financial Statements - Year Ended 31st December 2018" (PDF). rehab.ie. Rehab Group. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  6. "Rehab Group" (PDF). Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  7. "1 in 3 charities report drop in income after scandals in sector". rte.ie. RTÉ News. 27 September 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2021. Irish Hospice Foundation says that scandals in 2013 and 2014 involving the now reconstituted CRC and Rehab resulted in a 50% drop in donations to the hospice's Christmas appeal
  8. "Charity founders are often strong personalities who are left unchallenged". thejournal.ie. Journal Media Ltd. 23 July 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2021. After a number of high-profile scandals, such as the CRC and Rehab controversies in late 2013 and early 2014, there was alarm amongst the public [..] These scandals forced the government to establish the Charity Regulatory Authority (CRA) and appoint a regulator
  9. "Charities Regulator's investigation secures first prosecution". irishtimes.com. Irish Times. 28 June 2017. Retrieved 3 May 2021. after the controversies of recent years that have shaken the sector, including massive salaries and benefits paid at suicide charity Console [and] large salary levels at Rehab
  10. "Rehab Group Annual Report 2010" (PDF). Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  11. "National Learning Network". Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  12. "Rehab Enterprises". Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  13. "TBG Learning". Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  14. "Momentum". Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  15. "The Chaseley Trust". Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  16. "Rehab Job Fit".
  17. "Donations to Rehab fell by €2 million in wake of pay scandal". irishtimes.com. Irish Times. 3 December 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2021. The disability group's image was battered when it emerged that Ms [Angela] Kerins received a €240,000 salary, while more than €400,000 in consultancy fees was paid to former board member Frank Flannery over seven years
  18. "Rehab 'used charity cash to pay for their staff cars'". independent.ie. Independent News & Media. 24 January 2014. REHAB leased cars for staff using money provided by the State [..] The funds were only supposed to be used for charitable purposes – not spent on administration
  19. "Angela Kerins stepping down as Rehab CEO". rte.ie. RTÉ News. 2 April 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  20. Pope, Conor (10 December 2017). "Rehab scraps scratchcards that helped tarnish its reputation". Irish Times. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
  21. Cullen, Paul (20 November 2018). "Protesters occupy Rehab offices in row over polio funding". Irish Times. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
  22. "Rehab confirms it is investigating alleged fraud as it awaits €500k of €2m Govt bail-out". irishexaminer.com. Irish Examiner. 13 January 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  23. O'Donovan, Brian (30 March 2022). "Rehab Group victim of 'plain vanilla ransomware criminal attack'". RTÉ News. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
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