NAGP accounts reveal €80k deficit

The deficit is more than double that outlined in abridged financial statements for 1 January 2016 to the end of March 2017, which showed a deficit of €33,000.

In correspondence to members, NAGP Chairperson Dr Andy Jordan said the audited accounts for the year ending 31 March 2018 were now available. Dr Jordan added that the EGM would take place in Dublin on Thursday, 20 December, at 7pm. 

“At the EGM, members will be asked to approve the accounts,” Dr Jordan stated.

The accounts noted the view within the Association that the financial performance was “disappointing”.

NAGP CEO Mr Chris Goodey told the Medical Independent (MI) he was confident the Association could move into a surplus position in 2018/2019.

Mr Goodey said the NAGP stopped recruiting new members for an 18-month period from January 2017, but recruitment had now resumed.

According to Mr Goodey, the Association has 2,250 members and collects membership fees on a quarterly basis. At any one time, it could have “a couple of hundred members” due to pay fees, he said.

As well as trying to boost revenue by recruiting members, Mr Goodey said several “business deals” had been made. He declined to comment further, stating they were “commercially sensitive”.

Costs within the Association were cut and some staff had been laid-off, he added.

The accounts showed three staff were employed but the current staff number is six, not including newly-appointed lobbyist Mr Frank Flannery.

NAGP President Dr Maitiú Ó Tuathail told MI it had been a “challenging year” for the Association.

He said the NAGP spends “huge amounts” on legal fees, noting that one case recently cost €8,000 alone.

It was a “difficult tightrope to balance” between the Council’s wishes to keep membership fees down while trying to meet NAGP needs.

Meanwhile, an independent review of NAGP governance structures has recommended the Council be replaced by a nine-member board. This and other recommendations are to be discussed at the EGM.