Maureen Gaffney: cost taxpayer for US network membership fees

THE well-known psychologist Dr Maureen Gaffney cost the state $30,000 in membership fees for an exclusive women's network in her role at the National Economic and Social Forum (NESF).


Gaffney, who serves as the executive chair of the NESF, handed over $10,000 annually after being invited to become a member of the Harvard Women's Leadership Board (WLB), according to the organisation.


She is paid more than €85,000 a year for her work with the forum and has earned more than €255,000 through that job since 2007, according to details released to the Sunday Tribune.


A statement from the NESF said: "The Women's Leadership Board of Harvard University's John F Kennedy School of Government is a global network of women leaders from 22 countries.


"Membership is by invitation only. Maureen Gaffney... is a member of the Women's Leadership Board and serves on its executive committee.


"She is the only representative from Ireland. The Women's Leadership Board holds bi-annual conference meetings in Harvard and also regional meetings."


It said that the board provides high-level executive education featuring new research and well-known speakers including Hillary Clinton and Mary Robinson.


The NESF said that each member of the body was required to make a contribution of $10,000 annually for the benefit of membership.


It said: "The annual payment does not require any contractual arrangement between the Women's Leadership Board and the National Economic and Social Forum."


Gaffney, who also works as a broadcaster, columnist and consultant, has attended six meetings of the Leadership Board during the past three years, at events primarily at Harvard College near Boston, but also in New Orleans and London.


All transatlantic flights had been "business class", the NESF said "in accordance with the then Department of Finance guidelines for overseas travel".


Five separate trips to the US ended up costing €14,169 for executive flights and a further €4,045 was spent on meals and accommodation.


One trip to London for four nights ended up costing GBP£1,488 in hotel bills and meals with a further €263 claimed in travel and subsistence.


Gaffney stayed at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower in the British capital where the cost of a room per night came to more than GBP£377.


A statement said: "All hotels stayed in were the designated conference hotels, where standard rooms were block-booked for members at special conference or business rates and where all or most of the conference proceedings, and all of the side-meetings, took place.


"In view of the downturn in the public finances, the full cost of overseas travel and all other expenses arising from attendance at the November 2009 WLB bi-annual conference held in Harvard were paid for by the executive chair herself."


Gaffney warned in a recent newspaper article that public anger over political and economic scandals was in danger of overwhelming Irish society.


She said Irish people had "wilfully" re-elected politicians who they knew to be involved in wrongdoing, criticised decentralisation and said there had been a failure to exercise pressure on the government to halt the property boom.


"Over the last year," she wrote, "wave after wave of public anger has surged through Ireland. Much of it is justified, especially in the case of those who have been directly damaged or hurt by the actions of irresponsible others.


"But what was originally a glorious righteous emotion, energising us to call national wrongdoers to account, is gradually hardening into a kind of smouldering recession rage.


"As the downturn has lengthened, and as we have had more to be angry about, are we growing too fond of the physiological and psychological buzz of it all?"