Presidential candidate and Independent Senator Joan Freeman did not donate her Seanad salary to the suicide prevention charity she founded, Pieta House, as she pledged to do. A spokeswoman for Ms Freeman said the donation amounted to her full Seanad salary “after tax and pension deductions, which Ms Freeman was obliged to deduct”. Commenting at the time on donating her salary Ms Freeman said “I was appointed a Senator because of Pieta House so it’s only right that Pieta House and the community benefit as a result of this”. The charity was first incorporated as Pieta House Inc as a pilot programme, before it was named Solace House. The consequences for Pieta House, should it be in breach of charities law, would be extremely serious,” the memo stated.

Source: The Irish Times October 01, 2018 01:52 UTC