Minutes:

First Meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Newly Incorporated Men’s Health Forum in Ireland Ltd

Date:Thursday 2nd December 2010

Time:10.10am - 12.40pm

Venue:Wynn’s Hotel, Lower Abbey Street, Dublin

Present:Lorcan Brennan, Paula Carroll, Colin Fowler, Michael Lynch,

Owen Metcalfe, Finian Murray, Noel Richardson andMary Sheehan

Apologies:Nick Clarke, Paul Gillen, Gerry McElwee, Michael McKeon and

Peter Robinson

Chairperson:Noel Richardson

Minute Taker:Colin Fowler

Preamble: Incorporation of Company in the Republic of Ireland

Since 2005, the Men’s Health Forum in Ireland (MHFI) has been registered as a Company Limited by Guarantee in Northern Ireland (NI054325) and accepted as a charity by HM Revenue and Customs(XR83376). However, there has been increasing pressure from funding sources in the Republic of Ireland (especially the Health Service Executive) for MHFI to register in this jurisdiction as well.

On 11th November 2010, MHFI became incorporated as a Company Limited by Guarantee and not having a Share Capital (Company Number: 491368) in the Republic of Ireland (RoI). The RoI registered company address is: Centre for Men's Health, Institute of Technology Carlow, Kilkenny Road, Carlow. MHFI is, currently, seeking charitable recognition in the Republic of Ireland, and has applied for a Tax Reference Number.

At the 2010 Annual General Meeting, participants felt that it was necessary to discuss whether or not it is still appropriate (and an efficient use of limited time / resources) to also be registered as a company in Northern Ireland. Following a debate on the benefits and difficulties associated with being registered in both jurisdictions, the AGM agreed that the Board could not sustain two separate sets of accounting and reporting procedures in the longer-term. It was unanimously agreed that the Northern Irishcompany should be closed.

Colin was asked to explore what paperwork needs to be returned to the Companies Registry in Northern Ireland, and to research the process that needs to be followed. He will forward this information to Mary who, as the Northern Ireland Company Secretary, will submit it as soon as possible. It was felt that a provisional deadline of the end of January 2011 would be realistic to formally tender all documentation to dissolve the Northern Irish company. Before it is dissolved, all the assets of the Northern Ireland company will be donated to the new company in the Republic of Ireland.

Consequently, this is the first meeting of the newly incorporated Men’s Health Forum in Ireland Limited in the Republic of Ireland. However, the work undertaken by this new body will be a continuation and development of that previously done by the MHFI company registered in Northern Ireland.

Election of Officers

It was felt that the first task of the Board should be to elect Office Bearers for the new company. The following people were unanimously elected ...

  • Chairperson - Noel Richardson was proposed by Paula and seconded by Lorcan.
  • Vice Chairperson - Michael Lynch was proposed by Noel and seconded by Owen.
  • Treasurer - Finian was proposed by Owen and seconded by Noel.
  • Company Secretary - Paula Carroll agreed to take on this role.

It was felt that there is a need for the Chairperson to have the support of a Vice-Chairperson. This arrangement will be reviewed again in 3-6 months time. Given her experience of managing the finances of the Northern Ireland company, Mary agreed to provide help and support to Finian in his new role as Treasurer.

Minutes

The minutes of the last Board of Trustees meeting were accepted as an accurate reflection of the business attended to. They were proposed by Owen and seconded byFinian.

Matters Arising from Last Meeting

  • Noel emailed Peter Robinson to express his thanks for the new website.
  • Colin met with Peter and invited him to join the MHFI Management Committee. Peter agreed to do this.
  • Mary received all outstanding Man Matters monies. The minutes of the last meeting should be amended to state that we do not have a “sterling account” at present.
  • Michael and Colin represented MHFI at the BMA Patient Liaison Group. The group produced a good briefing paper (which was circulated to MHFI committee members); a lot of positive contacts were made (especially with the representative from the Medical Student Council - who wants to support Men’s Health Week 2011); Ian Banks gave the keynote address and inspired a lot of interest in men’s health ...
  • Noel will arrange for the Man Matters Policy Briefing Paper to be ready by the end of January 2011.
  • Colin finalised the Ardgillan Incident Report.
  • Letters were sent to the four runners who assisted Ian Dangerfield in Ardgillan.
  • The Men’s Health Week 2010 Evaluation Report is nearly completed.
  • A contract for funding has been agreed and signed with Glaxo Smith Kline.
  • The Young Men and Suicide proposal is almost finalised. However, there has been a lot of last minute negotiatingand re-working. There were a number of errors on the contract, and Owen asked for these to be amended. It also says that the work cannot be ‘sub-contracted’ by the Institute of Public Health. This would exclude MHFI involvement. Owen has also queried this, but has not received a reply yet. It was agreed that if the funding from the Republic of Ireland cannot be guaranteed at the outset, the contract should not be accepted.

MHFI Executive Officer

Recently, the work of MHFI has expanded rapidly, and there is an increasing number of demands being made upon committee members. It would be impossible to meet all these requests fully within the current resources. Colin was asked to leave the room (as he might be an interested party) while the meeting discussed the issue of whether MHFI needs to engage a full-time worker to coordinate and implement its activities.

It was agreed that MHFI should seek to appoint a full-time, self-employed, Executive Officer for one year, beginning in January 2011. This position will be advertised through Active Link, NICVA, the MHFI website and MHFI mailing databases.

The specific functions of this postwill be to:

  1. Support MHFI in achieving its aims and objectives.
  2. Manage the company.
  3. Secure funding to support the ongoing work of the company.
  4. Co-ordinate National Men’s Health Week 2011.
  5. Project manage the initiative on young men and suicide.

A package of €45,000 per annum plus expenses will be offered. The person appointed will work closely with the Board of Trustees and report directly to the Chairperson. Paula will coordinate the application process.

Colin was invited to return to the meeting after this discussion had taken place.

An Post

Noel is meeting with staff from “An Post” to talk about the development of an alcohol awareness booklet for men. At this meeting, he will also wear his ‘MHFI hat’. Eircom are interested in doing a similar project. However, there is some difficulty around adapting / using Ian Banks’ materials - as the copyright is owned by Haynes.

SafeFood

Colin met with Sinead and Fiona from SafeFood in their Dublin office, and they had a tele-conference with Marita and Marion in the Cork office. Following on from the Truckers’ initiative, SafeFood is keen to maintain an ongoing relationship with MHFI. This could involve: MHFI giving an input to next year’s Obesity Action Forum (part of which will look at men as a vulnerable group); promoting each others’ projects / work; sharing research / ideas; linking to each others’ websites; holding a ‘checking- in’ meeting once per year ...

Effective Practice Publication

It was suggested that, in the future, MHFI might consider collating a book / booklet which focuses on practical ideas for “How to ... Engage Men / Work with Men / Deliver Health Promotion with Men ...” This could collate examples of ‘what has worked’ from around the country, and draw upon the experience of bodies such as SafeFood, Irish Heart Foundation, Health Service Executive, Irish Cancer Society, Ulster Cancer Foundation, men’s groups etc. As Marita Hennessy’s job with SafeFood comes to an end in March 2011, she might be a potential person to approach to coordinate this piece of work. However, this project would need to have a substantial financial underwriter.

Company Requirements

Paula advised the meeting that the new MHFI company in the Republic of Ireland is obliged to meet a number of regulations with regard to communication and storing of information. These include:

  • A Men’s Health Forum in Ireland Ltd nameplate needs to be displayed at the registered company office in Carlow.
  • All letterhead paper / compliments slips / publicity materials need to have the registered company address on them as well as a list of the company’s Directors. When MHFI receives confirmation of their charity number, Colin will research prices for the production of new letterhead paper, compliments slips and business cards. He will also ensure that the website has these details clearly displayed.
  • Copies of all MHFI-related documentation (reports, returns, applications, contracts, minutes etc.) need to be filed with the Company Secretary.
  • MHFI needs to present a copy of audited accounts each year. It was agreed that Paula will approach Tom O’Connor, from O’Neill Foley Accountants in Patrick Street, Kilkenny, to see if they would be willing to undertake this work.

Men’s Health Week Evaluation Report

After discussion, it was agreed that MHFI should acknowledge what happened to Ian Dangerfield in the Men’s Health Week 2010 Evaluation Report. However, to protect the privacy of his family, it was felt that Ian should not be named in this document. It was also agreed that the preferred form of words was Option 1.

Lisa Kirwan - the main author of the report - will claim her expenses through the Health Research Centre in Waterford Institute of Technology.

Website Training

Colin reminded the meeting that there needs to be at least a core group of people who are proficient in updating / adding to the MHFI website. He will send out an email after Christmas requesting volunteers for a training day, and will organise a session to suit the schedule of this group.

Men’s Health Week 2011

Although the Men’s Health Forum in England has already decided to go with the theme of “Using IT to Improve Men’s Health”, the committee felt that it would be more appropriate for Ireland to focus upon: “Promoting Men’s Health and Well-Being During Difficult Times”.

Finian, Michael L, Lorcan and Colin will form a sub-group to develop this idea further. They will talk (via video link between the Institute of Public Health’s Dublin and Belfast offices) on Wednesday 12th January from 11.00am to 1.00pm.

Paula proposed that MHFI should engage an external evaluator for Men’s Health Week 2011 at the earliest possible opportunity. She will draft and circulate an “Application to Tender” document. This will have an upper limit payment of €2,000 for this contract.

Additional Committee Members

Following on from yesterday’s MHFI Planning Session, it was agreed that the Management Committee would be strengthened by the involvement of a few new members. Owen will approach Rory McKernan from SpunOut (youth sector) and Colin will contact Paul Darragh from BMA NI (medical sector) to ascertain their interest in contributing to MHFI.

Next Meeting

The next meeting will take place on Wednesday 12th January 2011, and will be conducted viavideo-link between the Institute of Public Health’s Dublin and Belfast offices. It will begin with lunch at 1.00pm. The actual business will start at 1.30pm and last until 3.30pm.

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