Coming to our attention repeatedly over the past two years for truant and improper accounting, cryptic funding streams, as well as resignations en masse, the trans charity TENI came under more fire this weekend for undeclared payments made to senior directors.
Reported in the Sunday Times, TENI apologised for not declaring €6,000 worth of payments to two of their board members (Sara Phillips and Alex Lawson) by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission for consultancy work with the state-funded body.
While not the largest of sums, failure to declare these payments is suspicious to say the least, heightened by the litany of irregularities found in TENI’s accounting methods, or lack thereof.
Similarly, The Burkean has previously followed up on similarly generous payments made to prominent Irish journalists for consultancy work with LGBT-related causes.
Last year we reported on TENI having their funding pulled by the HSE, which through FOI requests this publication learnt had received a hefty €1.25 million in grants over 5 years, despite clear issues with governance and transparency.
The direct result of this state funding to TENI has been resources intended for the public health being channelled into what is essentially a partisan group with a desire for hate speech and to redesign the Irish health and child services to suit their gender ideology.
In the wake of this ongoing confusion we have learnt of yet a new deadline of March 31st placed on the embattled NGO to file overdue financials, or else face the daunting task of returning grants for the year.
A private limited company rather than a charity, it has been judged by experts in the industry that the sheer opacity with which TENI operates means that they could never fully register as a charity.
While purely speculative, such a move would be a death knell for TENI, compounded by accusations of bullying and transphobia haunting senior members in the wake of last year’s resignations.
Speaking to the Sunday Times feminist activist, Jill Nesbitt of Women’s Space Ireland outlined the brazenness of TENI’s recent actions and need to cease state funding to the group.
“When a company is continually late in filing annual returns it raises serious governance concerns, TENI’s annual returns have been late for the last three years. No further exchequer funds should be handed over until a full review of the company’s governance and finances is completed.”
With March rolling on and minimal prospect of a turnaround, we here are anxious to see what April brings to our favourite trans champions.
Sara Philips long time Chair of TENI is a chartered accountant whose full time day job is a financial one with a commercial company. One of the undeclared payments relates to her! Would you not think that with her professional background and as Chair she would insist that accounts are filed on time and all financial legalities are complied with? Does Chartered Accountants Ireland know about this I wonder!
1.25 million Euros received in subsidies over 5 years. Do the Irish taxpaying public agree with their money being wasted on such a venal organisation.
An organisation and ideology who essentially want to destroy the family and the basis of society as we know it.