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THE IRISH TIMES 6 Home News Saturday,December 15,2018 Breakdown of Higgins’s allowance ‘drivel’ Casey labels President’s account of ¤317,000 fund ‘self-promoting’ Áras document details spending of Higgins’s annual unaudited allowance HARRY McGEE paign over the allowance. and FIACH KELLY It has been set at its current rate of ¤317,000 since the Presidential candidate Peter presidency of Mary McAleese Caseyhasdescribed thebreak- in 1998. The annual expendi- down of howPresident Mi- ture is broken down into five chael DHiggins’s annual categories. ¤317,000 allowance is spent Three are under the broad as “self-promoting drivel” and heading of in-house events, “bullshit”. and include food and bever- Áras an Uachtaráin pub- age,hospitality and entertain- lished a48-page document ment, and other, which in- thisweekentitled The Presi- cludes fees for entertainers. dencyinReview,which gave Another ¤170,000 has detailsofspendingoftheannu- been spent cumulatively over al unauditedallowance by Mr seven years “representing Ire- Higgins during his first sev- landabroad” butnofurtherde- en-year term . tailshave been disclosed as to The greater part of the how the funds were spent. glossy publication was com- prised of photographsofMr Costs Higgins, with only three pages All the President’s foreign of details of spendingunder trips are separately funded by the allowance. theDepartmentof ForeignAf- fairsand costsassociated with his travel abroad came to ¤667,000 during his term. The last category is “books and research”, which came to almost ¤40,000 over seven of America said it “cares deep- Following the news report the ■ Allan Mathews is aleader in years. ly” about all victims of child sex firm was “contactedbyover the St Patrick’s Scout Group in Thereisalist on the follow- Abuse scandal leaves abuse, and sincerely apologised 400 people who wereaffected Dundalk, Co Louth. He has ing pages of the number of “We believe them, we believe in by it,” McClenaghan said. been involved in scouting for events associated with the fairly compensatingthem, and Sincethen the firmhas repre- 27 years. PHOTOGRAPH: CIARA first terminoffice including we pay for unlimited counsel- sentedmorethan 200abusevic- WILKINSON six incoming State visits,52 ling for abuse victims and their tims in proceedings against the themed garden parties, 22 af- scouting facing families,”ittold The Irish organisation,withawardsrang- ternoon tea events and 200 of- Times. ing from £15,000 to hundreds hadbeen for aperiodbetween ficial lunches and dinners. of thousands of pounds. the late 1960sand mid-1970s, MrCaseycalled formorede- Complainants McClenaghansaid he had,in meaning it has had to pay the tailed figurestobepublished Daniel O’Connell, asolicitor severallawsuits ,“absolutely” costs of any abuse lawsuits and said this was not transpar- uncertain future withIrish firmColeman Legal come across historic cases fromthat periodfromits own It’s ent. “There are huge numbers Partners who specialise in where people had approached funds. impossible here but there is no break- abuse cases, said the firm had higher-level authorities in the reading through it down. We get generic head- 25 clients looking to take cases UK Scout Association about Indemnification ‘‘to work out the ings such as tea parties. erodedthe trust between par- The highly-publicised 2012 against Scouting Ireland. Some abuse, but “then nothing had Scouting Ireland now faces “Everyquarter expenses ents and local leaders in Dund- case“unleashedscores of law- 21 of those complainants had been done about it”. similar problems identifying figures. It’s aPR should be published. He also alk, he said. suits all over the country,” after contacted the firm in the last Failure to act on allegations past insurance records re- document. What’s spentover¤100,000 onphoto- In recent months Mathews’s which the BSA approachto three weeks, he said. to authorities appeared to be quired to help indemnify the or- graphs and did not deny it dur- six-year-old son joined the abuse allegations “did a180”, “I have afew different clients “individuals making mistakes ganisationagainst thecostof fu- the breakdown for ing the campaign. Thatwas a younger “beavers” age group. Mones said. who had the same abuser. rather than being directed not ture legal cases. these different lot. His excusewas he could “It’s away of life, Icouldnever Theprevious policy was akin Whenyou see the shocking to do anything” in cases he had The organisation was not get alocal photographer. see myself leaving, I’m in it 27 to “scorched earth”, where the numbers coming out that does seen, McClenaghan said. formed in 2004 following a expenses? “I am putting my expenses Jack Power years [and] it’ssomethingI’m organisationadopted anaggres- makeyou sit up and think,” Responding,the UK scout- merger of two legacy organisa- Former presidential for the election into SIPO and proud of being apart of,” sive defence against lawsuits, O’Connell said. ing body said it dealt with the is- tions,the Catholic Boy Scouts candidate Peter Casey everyshilling and pennywill Mathews said. hesaid.Afterthe publicscandal In late 2014, aBBC news re- sues“with the utmostserious- of Ireland (CBSI) and the Scout have to be accounted for. Ongoing review has The aim of scouting is to help theBSA’sapproachnowistore- port on an increaseinlawsuits ness”, adding that it works with Association of Ireland (SAI). “Everything which was identified 317 developyoungpeopleintoinde- solve cases in settlements against the Scout Association all agencies to ensure thatper- Themeeting of senior volun- The breakdown discloses over ¤126, we have had to pro- pendent individuals with good where possible, he said. in the UK since the Jimmy petrators “are removed “and teers on Monday at Scouting that the President spent just duce receipts. Ihave kept all alleged victims and morals,who“know how totreat Thescandalhas resulted in a Savileabuserevelations fea- thatthey facejusticefor their Ireland’s national head office in under ¤2 millionofthe allow- the receipts. people well,” he said. numberofmultimillion-dollar turedthe testimony of avictim crimes”. LarchHill, Dublin,heardtheor- ance during his first term and “I want far more compre- 212 alleged abusers “We’ve had people thathave court payouts for abuse vic- whowas molested in the scouts. To date, Bolt Burdon Kemp ganisation is facing challenges returned¤238,000 of un- hensive governanceofhis of- been fostered that had gone tims. Earlier this weekthe BSA Prior tothat point,David Mc- hasrecoveredmorethan £2mil- locatingpast insurance docu- spent funds to the Exchequer. fice,” he said. through terrible upbringings, hired alaw firm to explore fil- Clenaghan, apartner at law lion in compensation for abuse ments related to the SAI. Fellow unsuccessful elec- that were brought here. To see ing for bankruptcy in order to firmBolt BurdonKempwho victims from the Scout Associa- “At the momentthere is only Criticised tion candidate Gavin Duffy themgrow,develop,change restructure, according to me- specialises in abuse cases, had tion. oneinsurer who is willing to in- Yesterday, Mr Casey, aDone- welcomed the setting up of a AllanMathews(35)has beenin- and come outthe other end on a dia reports. takenabout 28 legalactions TheUKassociation was una- sure Scouting Ireland in this gal-based businessman who review group. “Citizens ex- volved with scouting sincehe happier path, that’s what you Responding, the Boy Scouts against the Scout Association. ble to identify who its insurers country,”AislingKelly told the finishedsecondinthe recent pectopennessandtransparen- waseight years old, and is nowa want to do,” Mathews said. private meeting. The historic presidentialelection, sharply cyand fullaccountability asre- leaderwith the St Patrick’s documentation for the CBSI criticised what he described as gards all spending of excheq- group, in Dundalk, Co Louth, Confidentialreview was in “much better shape” the complete lack of detail uer funds across all State enti- one of Scouting Ireland’slarg- The first threads of the con- thanrecords fromthe SAI,she underthe headings, as well as ties including Áras an est troops in the country. troversy cameloose lastFebru- said. the decision to publish it in a Uachtaráin. Hopefully this In the troop den on Thursday ary,when The Irish Times re- If ScoutingIreland is forced booklet thatcost thousands of willbeachieved by the annual nightagroupof20cubs, aged ported the details of aconfiden- to bear the entire cost of law- euro. publication of the promised from nine to 11,werelearning tial review by safeguarding ex- suits from past abuse in the SAI “It is 48 pages of self-pro- Presidential review,” he said. how to navigate using compass- pert Ian Elliott. The review itself, the cost is “going to be moting drivel,” Mr Casey told “The review must include es. Upstairs alarger group of found Scouting Ireland’shan- huge,” McClenaghan said. The Irish Times. itemised, spending details but scouts, ranging in age from12 dling of arapeallegationfrom The organisation does not “It’s impossible reading shouldalso try to establish val- to 15, played aseries of games 2016, concerning two adult havesubstantial financialre- through it to work out the fig- ue of the office for citizens by on their last meeting before leaders, was “deeply flawed”. serves. Twice thisyear its State ures. It’saPRdocument. outliningthe important work Christmas. Elliott’s report also identi- funding was suspended by Min- What’sthe breakdown for conductedbythe office in the The crisis over the historic fied