The Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA) is to seek a new chief executive after it agreed an out-of-court financial settlement with a former chief executive it tried to dismiss earlier this year.
The board of the association, which receives more than €23 million in State funding, attempted to remove Séamus Thompson as chief executive in February last year. However, it was stopped from doing so after he secured a High Court injunction preventing his dismissal.
Following a query from The Irish Times, the IWA said in a statement that Mr Thompson had resigned on an agreed basis from the association and litigation between the parties had been settled.
The IWA declined to say what the size of the financial settlement was.
Both parties in the case have agreed not to discuss the matter with the media.
Both the IWA and Mr Thompson had been preparing for a High Court case that was likely to have been the centre of considerable media attention.
The association has also refused to comment on why it sought Mr Thompson's dismissal, but the move followed a review of corporate governance and organisational issues at the charity, which employs 1,600 people and has about 20,000 members.
The IWA's financial controller, John Bouchier-Hayes, resigned from the organisation earlier this year.
The association hopes the settlement will bring an end to the controversy surrounding the attempted dismissal and other management issues at the organisation.
The first part of a major review of management structures is due to be completed by the end of this month by a consultancy group, Value The Person.
Once this is completed, the association says it will put in place a process for the recruitment of a new chief executive. It expects the successful candidate will be in place by the end of the year. Molly Buckley, chairwoman of the IWA, has been acting as executive chairwoman on an interim basis.
An earlier review of corporate governance and management at the IWA - by consultants Farrell Grant Sparks - was commissioned following complaints by a small number of staff relating to the management of the organisation. Mr Thompson and Mr Bouchier-Hayes were given time to respond to its findings at the time.
Mr Bouchier-Hayes tendered his resignation as financial controller on January 27th. At a meeting the following day, the board decided to seek the dismissal of Mr Thompson.
Under normal procedures, he had seven days to respond to the dismissal. Mr Thompson secured a High Court order restraining the IWA from effecting its decision within this period.
A spokesman for the association said the organisation had moved on and had already held a successful agm earlier this month.
The latest annual report for the IWA shows the organisation received more than €23 million in Government grants, health board subventions and community employment funding.
It also raised funds worth €1.95 million through raffles and flag days, along with a further €800,000 from rental income, sales and services and revenue from charity shops.
