Last Updated: May 2024
Epilepsy Ireland’s vision is to achieve a society where no person’s life is limited by epilepsy.
We work towards this vision by providing community-based support & education programmes; providing training to health and allied health professionals; improving public understanding of epilepsy; advocating on behalf of those affected by epilepsy and supporting Irish research to help better understand and treat the condition.
We are grateful for all funding and donations we receive to enable us to meet these objectives and we recognise that public trust in our work and performance is essential. We are committed to providing a high level of accountability and transparency about how we raise and spend our funds.
In 2023, as per the audited accounts for the year (the latest currently available), our total income was €1,868,619. This includes €45,436 in non-cash (in-kind) donations.
Of the total income, €779,597 (42%) was in Section 39 grants from the Health Service Executive, which includes one-off ‘inflation funding’ of €29,449. This statutory funding is operated under regional service level agreements (SLAs) and we provide detailed annual reports to the HSE for each of these agreements.
We require additional funding from other sources in order to continue to provide our services and in 2023, €531,723 was raised through donations, memberships and legacies. This includes the non-cash donations of €45,436, as well as a total of €204,471 in bequests received during the year. €139,409 was raised through other trading activities that included raffles, lotteries, campaigns, appeals and fundraising events. Total ‘cash’ fundraising income was therefore €625,696.
While fundraising increased by 63% compared to 2022, much of the increase was the result of atypically large legacy donations. When adjusted for the legacies, fundraising income was still 10% higher than in 2022, continuing its recovery from the Covid-19 affected years of 2020 and 2021. However, fundraising income has not yet reliably returned to pre-Covid levels.
Income generating services including training services accounted for €207,245 of income, a 20% increase on the previous year. Non-HSE grants including those in relation to Training For Success (Mayo Sligo Leitrim Education Training Board); HSE National Lottery funding; the Support Scheme for National Organisations; and the RTE Toy Show Appeal amounted to €183,424. Investment & other income was €27,221 in 2023.
Our total expenditure in 2023 was €1,722,393, an increase of 5% on the previous year. This meant that a surplus of €146,226 was recorded. Of every €1 we spent in 2023, 86% went to direct charitable objectives. In 2023, 39% of expenditure went towards information & support; 21% to training & education; 14% to awareness raising; 6% to advocacy; 6% to epilepsy research; and 14% to raising funds. It is our belief that we extract maximum value for people with epilepsy, from every euro that we spend.
The nature of our work, providing personalised support services to people with epilepsy and their families is highly dependent on direct staffing resources. We employ skilled, experienced service and training staff to deliver on our objectives in these areas, supported by professional expertise in fundraising and administration. In 2023, the average number of employees was 22 (18 WTE), comprised of 16 in service delivery & training and 6 in administration & fundraising.
59% of all expenditure was pay-related in 2023. The average salary paid was €39,850 (€47,900 per WTE). No additional payments or bonuses of any kind are paid to Epilepsy Ireland employees apart from employer pension fund contributions (€52,868). Total pay costs were c. €7,000 higher in 2023 compared to 2022. We report on all salaries over €60,000 in bands of €10,000 as per the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) for Charities. In 2023, one employee earned between €80,000 and €90,000; no employees earned between €70,000 and €80,000 and two employees earned between €60,000 and €70,000. Our Board members and members of our sub-committees are all volunteers who donate freely their time, skills and experience.
At the end of 2023, Epilepsy Ireland held total funds of €1.61m (€1.46m at the end of 2022). €125,000 are held as restricted funds to be used for specific agreed purposes. €500,000 are held for purposes designated by the board, including running awareness campaigns, supporting research and implementing the strategic plan. The remaining €985,000 is held as a general operational reserve, in line with our agreed reserves policy to hold at least 6 months operating costs as reserves.
Epilepsy Ireland publishes audited accounts and an annual report each year. Since 2014, our financial statements are prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) for charities and the FRS 102 accounting standard.
Mazars have acted as our statutory auditors since 2022.
If you have any questions on our sources or use of funds, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@epilepsy.ie.
