Aid agency chiefs step down in row over policy and spending

The chairman and deputy chairman of one of Ireland's leading aid agencies, Self Help Development International, have stepped down in an internal row over policy and spending.

Dr Noel McDonagh, who co-founded Self Help in response to the Ethiopian famine in 1985, recently retired early as chairman, while his intended successor, Larry O'Loughlin, resigned from the position of co-chair in recent weeks, The Irish Times understands.

Their departures were prompted by a dispute with some former directors and their supporters who have criticised the way the organisation was being run.

Simmering disagreements within the organisation since a major reorganisation in 2004 have worsened in recent months. A group of supporters, who include two former directors, have now called an egm about the agency's future in a Dublin hotel on May 12th, although Self Help says the group has no legal right to call it.

Self Help is one of six agencies to receive multi-annual funding from the Government through Ireland Aid. On average, it receives about €3-4 million a year in funding from this source and raises another €1.5 million a year from the public.

With its emphasis on "Irish farmers helping farmers in Africa", it runs projects in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Malawi, Kenya and Uganda. The agency's emphasis on employing local staff to help achieve self-sufficiency has been widely praised.

Mick McCarthy, one of the group which has called the egm, said the meeting was being convened to reconstitute the board. The legal advice was that the meeting was properly called.

He claimed there was concern about the level of administration costs within the organisation, which he put at €500,000 of the €1.49 million raised last year.

However, an agency source denied this, saying it was arrived at by including the salaries of overseas project staff under administrative costs.

"Our accounts are fully audited, they are immaculate, so much so that we are one of the six Irish agencies selected by Ireland Aid for multi-annual funding," the source said.

Mr McCarthy said Self Help had rejected an offer of €1.3 million in funding from the Support Africa Foundation, a fundraising operation run by a number of wealthy businessmen.

However, the agency source said only a fraction of this money was made available, and it could not be accepted because of the strings attached.

Dr McDonagh's daughter, Hilary, who is chief executive of Self Help, could not be contacted for comment.