Emergency meeting called for Console employees as fears grow that service may be wound up

Fears are growing that the charity Console may be wound up in the near future as the interim CEO, David Hall, has admitted that the organisation are struggling for funds following the revelations of the financial wrongdoings at the charity.

A meeting has been called to take place in Dublin this afternoon as staff at the Celbridge-based charity are said to be owed hundreds of thousands of euros in salaries following the crisis that has engulfed Console.

Hall has stated that the HSE have not met with him in the two weeks since the intricacies of founder Paul Kelly's financial dealings were revealed by an RTÉ documentary.

It is thought that the charity will need increased funding to be provided by the HSE to help keep it afloat, with the suicide prevention service relying upon €70,000 payments each month from the exchequer and €30,000 from donations.

Console’s interim chief executive David Hall has called an emergency meeting with the group’s staff today to tell them services may be wound up immediately, due to alleged Government failure to solve the charity’s financial crisis.

“All I can say is there is a significant deficit in funds. There is significant money owed to staff. I can’t guarantee services will continue without a solution being given,” Mr Hall is quoted as saying in the Irish Examiner.

“The HSE haven’t met with me in the two weeks since this happened. A meeting has been promised with ministers Harris and [Helen] McEntee, but nothing happened. No meeting, no solutions. Nothing.”

The investigation into the financial dealings at the charity continues today, with Mr Hall continuing to look into the the financial records that were locked away in a storage facility near Naas.