Following a disclosure this week that a bank account containing the €150,000 collected by the Tipperary branch of the Red Cross for tsunami relief lay untouched for three years until it was discovered in 2008 during a national audit by the Red Cross headquarters, members of the Tipperary branch said all the money donated in Tipperary was spent on tsunami relief.

This week Tipperary branch members Tony Lawlor, who is the acting Vice chairman of the Irish Red Cross and the Tipperary branch chairperson Ellen Keane, made statements thanking people for their donations and informed them that the money had been drawn down as required over a five year period to carry out a number of major humanitarian projects.

The statements were issued when it was revealed in a Sunday newspaper that the account containing the j150,000 came from the Red Cross Tipperary branch .

Tipperary town based Tony Lawlor, who has given thirty six years service to the Red Cross, said it was the view of the Tipperary branch that the money was placed in a dedicated overseas account by the branch after it was collected locally and that the national Red Cross were notified of its existence.

"For some reason the transfer did not occur. The transfer should have happened but did not happen. That delay should not have occurred. It's regrettable that it did happen,"

Mr Lawlor, who was appointed vice chairman of the Irish Red Cross in May and is acting as chairman until the government appoints a chairman to succeed David Andrews who resigned last November, said that the money collected in Tipperary was intact and untouched when discovered by the national organisation and had since been spent on important humanitarian projects.

"The people of Tipperary responded, as always, very generously to our appeal following the tsunami and despite the delay it has all been spent on valuable reconstruction, income support and health promotion projects in three of the countries struck by the tsunami," he said.

He said the local branch of the Red Cross was very proud to raise such an amount of money during the tsunami appeal and the money was spent as part of the five year roll over relief programme implemented by the Irish Red Cross.

Mr Lawlor said that the administrative error, which resulted in a sum of money donated to the tsunami relief fund remaining unused in a Red Cross account in Tipperary, was discussed and reviewed by senior management, the Red Cross finance committee and the Board at the time.

"It was clearly established that this was simply an oversight and the funds were immediately used in the comprehensive 5-year relief programme to provide humanitarian assistance to those affected by the tsunami. Since then the Irish Red Cross has seen fit to reappoint me as Vice Chairman and I am honoured to serve in this position and will continue to do so with commitment and integrity," he said.

Ellen Keane, vice chairman of the Tipperary branch, said the money collected locally was lodged in a dedicated overseas account and it was the view of the branch that the national office were advised of this account.

"From the point of view of the branch, this money was available to the national organisation at all times, it was untouched and was used as part of the five year programme of relief," she said.
Ellen Keane thanked the people of Tipperary for their generosity shown towards the appeal in the wake of the tsunami and said she wanted to reassure local people that the money was spent on projects the money was donated for.

In a statement, the Irish Red Cross said that in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2005 they had a tremendous response from the Irish public who donated over €31 million to the Irish Red Cross.

"These funds went into a series of Irish Red Cross Tsunami Appeal bank accounts around the country, one of which was in Tipperary and was drawn down as required over a five year period to carry out a number of major humanitarian projects in the Maldives, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

"Due to an administrative error, the money lodged into the Tipperary bank account remained there untouched. When this was noticed it was immediately used as part of the ongoing work for tsunami relief. It is important to note that Irish Red Cross humanitarian relief and projects in countries affected by the Indian Ocean Tsunami were carried out from 2005 when the disaster struck and are ongoing with funds from the Irish public still helping communities in Indonesia, the Maldives and Sri Lanka.