These are the Board minutes from 21st June 2017
We are happy to publish the minutes of our Board meetings so that Board activities and decisions are accountable. There is always a delay between the meeting held and the publication of the minutes. This is because the minutes must be approved before they can be published. Minutes are approved at the meeting after the meeting they are a record off. For example, if a Board meeting is held in March and the next meeting is held in April, the minutes of the March meeting will not be on the website until after the April meeting.
MINUTES OF THE BOARD MEETING of 21st June 2017
Present: David O’Callaghan,Patricia Carey, Thomas Cronin, Tom Daly, Katherine Finn, Frances Harrington, Dr. Mary T. Lodato, Francis Treanor.
Apologies: Damian Casey, Rachel Downes
In attendance: Mary Higgins, David Yeomans (Secretary), Sinéad Fennell, Caitríona Ní Mhúrchú.
| Item | Discussion | Decision / Action | Time |
| 1. Introduction & Welcome | The Chairman led brief introductions and welcomed each member on their recent appointments. He referred to the RISF Act as setting out the functions of the Board in being custodians of the Fund with Survivors being at the heart of everything. He wished that the Board would be open and transparent with input being welcomed and valued with all voices being equal. | ||
| 2. Background, Structures & Services
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The CEO made a short presentation on the background to the establishment of Caranua in the context of Survivors’ needs for services, providing clarifications on points as they arose. These included the limit introduced under the June 2016 criteria. There were general observations about the context of Caranua being a State body and it was re-affirmed that where a Board member is contacted by an applicant that they refer this to the Executive for action rather than bring up individual cases at Board meetings. | Approved
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| 3. Governance Concepts and the role of the Board | The Secretary made a short presentation on the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies referring to the expectation to be fully compliant by 1st September 2017. The Secretary refered to the requirements in relation to formal induction and training for new Board members and requested that individuals may contact him in this regard. | ||
| 4. Challenges, Progress & Opportunities | The CEO made a short presentation on the Challenges facing Caranua, the progress made to date and potential opportunities, providing clarifications on points as they arose. A request was made that a breakdown of complaints be provided at the next meeting. | Breakdown of Complaints to be provided | Next meeting |
| 5. Minutes | The draft minutes of the meeting held on 23rd March 2017 were approved, with the incorporation of further clarity on the Board’s decision in relation to obtaining receipts from Applicants, as proposed by Tom Daly and seconded by Katherine Finn. |
| 6. Matters arising not on the Agenda | There were no matters arising. | ||
| 7. Finance & Risk Matters | The Board noted that Legal advice had been received that the authority under S23(3)(a) of the RISF Act 2012 must be provided by the Board on an individual case basis. In this regard, the Board reviewed and approved a Protocol for implementing the decision taken at the last meeting, agreeing that a 21-day period should be set before commencing the subsequent stage(s) of the process. | Protocol for seeking Receipts from Applicants
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Ongoing
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| 8. Appointments to Audit & Risk Committee | The Board appointed the following to the Audit & Risk Committee:
A suggestion was made that the Committee might consider co-opting an external person to attend meetings as an observer. |
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| 9. Establishment of short-term Sub-Committee to Review the June 2016 Criteria | The Board noted that a short-term Sub-Committee of the Board had previously been established to recommend changes to the 2014 Criteria and that the Board, in implementing its recommendations had agreed to conduct a review after 12 months’ operations. The Board decided that it would be appropriate to establish another Sub-Committee to oversee this Review and the following members were appointed:
The CEO will be in attendance at meetings and undertook to circulate a draft Terms of Reference for the Sub-Committee and schedule a first meeting before the next Board meeting. |
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| 10. A.O.B. | The Board were provided with a set of statistics up to end May 2017 and financial expenditure for first quarter 2017. A brief discussion followed on the current applicant waiting times and a proposal to improve this was requested for the next meeting.
A suggestion was made that applicants under the 2014 guidelines could be provided with a small grant allocation for white goods and that they also receive assistance towards funeral costs but the Board did not agree. |
Proposal to improve waiting times | Next Meeting |
| 11. Next Meeting | The next meeting of the Board will be held on 26th July 2017 at 10:30, at which time a schedule will be agreed for the rest of the year.
The meeting concluded at 14:30. |