Last April, it was reported that the HSE had suspended funding for the Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI). According to what the Sunday Times reported at the time, the HSE’s decision was taken on the grounds of TENI missing the deadline to file annual financial accounts. TENI has informed GCN that the funding has been delayed pending a review of audited accounts.
Last night TENI issued a statement saying: “TENI is aware of the concerns that have been raised around the filing of our audited accounts for 2021. We also know that the trans community as a whole has come under increased scrutiny recently and so we wanted to provide some information to the community on the actions that we are taking to ensure we can continue to provide our services.”
“TENI through our auditor is proceeding with the filing of our annual financial statements for 2021. These will be filed before the Companies Registry Office deadline which is the 25th of November 2022. We submitted these to the HSE on Friday the 21st of October and have published our accounts for the past 4 years on our website. Alongside sending our accounts, we have also sent the HSE our plan to strengthen our governance processes. TENI will be prioritising the resourcing of our finance function and reporting in 2023.”
“TENI is still in a period of change. We are strengthening our board and looking to external experts for support. We will ensure that we focus on the improvement of our processes and structures in order to best serve the trans community into the future.”
“TENI’s work for the trans community continues despite our difficulties over the past number of years. We have provided training to thousands of healthcare and education professionals, supported employers to become trans-friendly and supported peer groups for trans people and their families across Ireland. We know that we need to communicate more about the work we are doing, and we are looking at ways that the community can get involved and receive regular updates on our work.”
TENI specified that they will be focusing on their Strategic Plan in the future and that they intend to focus on listening to the community to better address their needs. For this purpose, they have set up the email address [email protected] for anyone who wishes to get in touch to provide their feedback.
Moreover, TENI is a non-profit organisation and thus relies on donations to continue their work. If you wish to support TENI, you may consider contributing to their Annual Donation Drive or sharing their social media posts to spread the word.
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