19 entries for Mazars

The submission concurred with Mazars’ view that the accumulated loss of equivalent of €17,700 that was made over the period of operation of Daingean could not to be taken at face value to indicate that the capitation grant and other income were insufficient to cover operating costs. Goodbody looked at the flow of payments and benefits between the Order and St Conleth’s to see whether the services provided by the Order exceeded the value of goods and services moving in the other direction. If the Order gave more to the Reformatory than it received, then the inference was that the Oblates subsidised the Reformatory. If the situation was otherwise, as Mazars conclude, then the Oblates received a net benefit and can be said to have actually profited from the operation.

They do however concede that ‘Some fault could be attributed to the religious for not pursuing closer accounting with the State.’53 The Rosminians also dispute that the relationship between the State and the religious as ‘outsourcing’, as claimed by Mazars. The Rosminians counter that the religious were used as it was known that they would ‘act on the basis of charity’: The two Rosminian Schools operated under constant financial constraint and uncertainty. Amongst other influences, this aggravated disciplinary issues. Broken windows or equipment, soiled or torn clothes, perceived waste or stolen food, were punished partly because of the need for stringent economy.54

Mazars reached the following conclusions. When we compare 1951–55 with 1961–65 we noted the following: The breakeven point for Artane and Upton decreased significantly when comparing 1951–55 with 1961–65. In the case of Artane the breakeven level decreased due to the increase in the level of variable income and variable costs by approx. 100 percent to €255 and €126 respectively per child per year increasing the monetary amount of the contribution. In the case of Upton, unlike other schools, variable cost levels per child remained constant at approx. €110 per child per year while variable income increased by approx. 50 percent. Over time the contribution per child has increased. As identified above, this is due to the variable income increasing by a higher monetary value than the variable costs per child. The level of contribution was higher in the schools with a farm due to the farm income, which was an important source of additional funding for those schools. In line with the increased contribution, fixed costs and capital expenditure have also increased. The break-even analysis for the sample period in the 1950’s shows that all of the schools, with the exception of Upton, had numbers of children in excess of the break-even point – suggesting that they should have been in a position to run at least at break-even. In the 1960’s, Artane and Daingean experienced a decline in the number of children to a point below their break-even point. The break-even calculation does not include capital expenditure. If capital expenditure were included, the break-even point would increase in each school. In the 1950’s, capital expenditure was low and would not impact the break even point significantly. In the 1960’s, where capital expenditure was higher, adjusting for capital expenditure would mean that Artane, An Daingean, Upton and Ferryhouse would have numbers of children below their break-even point. • In considering this analysis we believe that two points should be noted. The decline in the numbers of children during the late 1950’s and through the 1960’s meant that the schools in general became increasingly uneconomic to run, with some schools reaching a position where they were below break-even point. However, significant increases in the capitation grant in the late 1960’s, outside of our sample period, would have compensated for this to an extent. We also note that there is a strong argument that capital expenditure was not intended to be funded from the capitation grant – for the reasons we have examined in the early part of this report. If this is accepted as a reasonable understanding of the position, then the break-even analysis excluding the impact of capital expenditure is the more appropriate representation of the position of the individual schools, as regards the expected impact of the State contribution. Of course, the schools still had to fund this expenditure, from other sources if necessary.56

Integral to the whole issue of neglect is the question of finance. Financial Consultants, Mazars, were asked to analyse the financial position of Daingean, and their report and the Oblates’ submission on this issue, in addition to other relevant documents and a commentary, appear in Part IV. What can be stated is that the numbers in Daingean, right up until the late 1960s, were adequate to ensure that the capitation grant could provide a basic standard of care for the boys there. Taking into account the income from the large and productive farm and the work of the boys, especially on the bog, it is clear that lack of funding was not an excuse for the very poor standard of care provided.