The Central Remedial Clinic ( ga, An Príomhchlinic Feabhais), commonly known and referred to as the CRC, is a non-residential national centre established for the care, treatment and development of children and adults with physical disabilities. It is located at Clontarf,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

History

The clinic was founded by Lady

Valerie Goulding Valerie Hamilton, Hon. Lady Goulding (12 September 1918 – 28 July 2003) was an Irish campaigner for disabled people, and senator who set up the Central Remedial Clinic in 1951 alongside Kathleen O'Rourke which is now the largest organisation ...

and Kathleen O'Rourke in 1951 as a small non-residential treatment centre in a house on Upper Pembroke Street in Dublin's city centre. In 1954 it moved to

Goatstown Goatstown () is a small Southside suburb of Dublin, Ireland. To the west is Dundrum, to the east is Blackrock, to the south is Sandyford, and to the north Ranelagh. It is mainly a residential area, with a primary school called Our Lady’s Gro ...

where it quickly developed

paramedic A paramedic is a registered healthcare professional who works autonomously across a range of health and care settings and may specialise in clinical practice, as well as in education, leadership, and research. Not all ambulance personnel are p ...

al and educational services for people with disabilities. In 1968, it moved into a purpose-built facility in Clontarf. In the 1970s, Lady Goulding hired

Charles Haughey Charles James Haughey (; 16 September 1925 – 13 June 2006) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach on three occasions – 1979 to 1981, March to December 1982 and 1987 to 1992. He was also Minister for the Gaeltacht from ...

to head up its fund-raising arm. Accountant to Haughey, Des Peelo, was chairman for a period. While Lady Goulding ensured continuing finance from State and philanthropic sources, its medical development was under the direction of Dr Ciaran Barry, who also worked at the Mater Hospital. The CRC opened a centre in Waterford, providing a regional assessment service for children in the south-east of Ireland, in 2001 and substantially expanded it in 2011. The CRC is partly funded by the

Health Service Executive The Health Service Executive (HSE) ( ga, Feidhmeannacht na Seirbhíse Sláinte) is the publicly funded healthcare system in Ireland, responsible for the provision of health and personal social services. It came into operation on 1 January 2005 ...

(HSE) and partly funded by charity and fundraising activities. As of 2010/2011, the CRC was in receipt of approximately €17 million annually from the HSE, with an additional €14 million raised by its charity arm (Friends and Supporters of the Central Remedial Clinic). The latter included several million in National Lottery funding.

Controversy

The CRC was "embroiled in a major scandal" in 2013 when it was revealed that senior staff were receiving salaries much higher than agreed public service pay rates, that donated funds (intended to provide services) were used to pay these salaries, and that the charity had paid its former chief executive a "secret €742,000 retirement pay-off" from charitable funds. These controversies (and similar issues at other Irish charities) during 2014 and 2015 reportedly resulted in an overall reduction in donations to charitable organisations and prompted changes to the regulation of charities in Ireland.

References

External links

CRC website
{{Authority control Medical and health organisations based in the Republic of Ireland Disability in Ireland Hospitals in Dublin (city) 1951 establishments in Ireland Hospitals established in 1951 Seanad nominating bodies