Pieta House

Pieta is a registered charity in Ireland (CHY 16913) overseen by a voluntary board of trustees.^[26] It is fully compliant with the Charities Governance Code and publishes audited annual accounts with the Charities Regulator.^[27]

In 2024, Pieta reported income of €13.68 million, of which €12.6 million (73%) was spent on charitable activities and €4.7 million on fundraising. Statutory funding amounted to €2.79 million, with more than 80% of income generated through donations and fundraising events such as Darkness Into Light. Expenditure totalled €17.29 million, leading to a €3.6 million deficit, which was met by reserves. Year-end reserves stood at €10.7 million, in line with the charity’s policy of holding nine months’ operating costs.^[28][29]

In 2020, the postponement of major fundraising events during the COVID-19 pandemic led to a reported shortfall of about €6.5 million. To manage this, Pieta implemented temporary salary reductions of up to 30% and announced redundancies across its workforce.^[30]

Questions have been raised about senior salary levels at the charity.^[31] Following staff layoffs during the Covid Pandemic the top six earners' combined salaries exceeded €500,000 per annum, with the CEO paid €120,000, rising to nearly €150,000 with benefits. ^[32]

Sinn Féin's Mark Ward TD said the excessive salaries were in striking contrast with front-line therapists only receiving €25,000 per year. He also noted the charity would pay €420,000 in redundancies that year while already running at a loss pre-Covid.^[33]

A 2018 Health Service Executive audit identified significant governance deficiencies at Pieta. One major issue identified was the absence of a documented remuneration policy, which raised questions about the transparency and accountability of salary allocations. The audit also revealed that salary increases awarded to the then-CEO and senior staff in 2017 were not formally discussed or approved, as evidenced by the absence of these decisions in board meeting minutes. Furthermore, Pieta failed to provide the HSE with a required complaints report, a critical oversight that left the HSE uninformed about any complaints lodged against the charity. In addition, the audit noted inadequate performance monitoring, including failures to centralise essential documents such as tax clearance certifications and insurance policies. The audit said the charity had 15 bank accounts with a total balance of €4.6m at December 31, 2017.^[34][35][36]

The HSE audit found the charity recorded 38 foreign trips between 2014 and 2017 but had no policy governing foreign travel. Twenty-two of the overseas trips were connected to Darkness Into Light. The charity did not provide auditors with evidence of prior approval of foreign travel or full financial and travel records.^[37]

Another major concern identified in the report was the failure to renew Garda vetting for several staff members over a number of years, with no reasons provided by Pieta House for not renewing these Garda clearances. Beyond the vetting renewals not happening, in one case a counsellor was actually appointed before Garda clearance was obtained. When the vetting was eventually completed, there was a record which warranted the employee being interviewed by the HR manager. ^[38]

The audit also highlighted issues with invoices submitted by therapists contracted to provide counselling sessions for Pieta. A review of invoices from 22 therapists revealed that some payments had been processed without proper approval. Furthermore, in four cases, there were discrepancies between appointment records and the corresponding invoices.^[39]

The audit noted one staff member was responsible for collecting donations, drawing up receipts, and depositing funds in the charity's bank account, which could lead to irregularities going unnoticed. ^[40]

There were no signatures on the CEO's or any other credit card statements evidencing that expenditure was authorised. There was no evidence of a board decision to increase credit card limits from €5,000 to €15,000. ^[41]

CEO Pay Increase

The 2018 HSE audit into Pieta House found that the CEO received a 12% pay increase, significantly higher than the 5% rise given to other staff, and raised concerns about how this was handled. While the organisation stated that the increase had been approved by its board, the auditors found no record of this approval in the board minutes. More broadly, the audit criticised the lack of proper documentation and formal governance around salary decisions, noting that there was no clear remuneration policy in place for senior management. These shortcomings formed part of wider findings that financial controls within the organisation were unsatisfactory, and the audit recommended that future pay decisions be formally approved and clearly recorded.^[41]

Pieta House disputed the audit’s findings on the lack of documentation surrounding the CEO’s pay increase, describing them as “incorrect, unfair, and should be removed,” but the HSE audit team maintained its position, stating that the charity had not supplied any evidence to refute the conclusions.^[41]

In 2015, the charity's founder and former senator, Joan Freeman, was appointed to an ambassadorial role, reporting directly to Pieta's board. However, the audit revealed significant governance lapses surrounding this position. It noted that Pieta House management were not fully informed about the ambassador's activities, and her contract and job description were missing from her staff personnel file.^[42]

The HSE's National Office for Suicide Prevention recommended that the board put in place a comprehensive review of its structure and operations to develop a sustainable model, after analysis of its financial standing revealed a significant financial gap. The charity had recorded losses of over €710,000 in 2019 even before Covid hit. ^[43]

In 2012, an audit by Pobal, a government agency, uncovered serious governance deficiencies at Pieta House. Issues included the use of pre-signed blank cheques, inadequate control measures for electronic banking, and failure to adhere to public sector procurement rules. These findings led to the repayment of €31,000 in ineligible expenditure.

Former staff have publicly expressed concerns about working conditions at the charity on employment review platforms, though such accounts are self-published and unverified. As of 2026, Glassdoor shows a rating of 2.8 out of 5 based on 28 reviews, while Indeed shows a rating of 1.9 based on 16 reviews. ^{[44] [45]}