An employee of the suicide charity, Console, has said that he was often paid late, but thought that the organisation's funds were being managed appropriately.

Speaking on RTÉ radio, Ger Rynne, who manages Console's services in Cork, said that the revelations about how money was spent by founder Paul Kelly, and some of his family members, has been very hurtful to people working for the charity and people who fundraised for it.

An interim audit by the HSE has revealed that Mr Kelly, his wife Patricia and their son Tim benefitted to the tune of almost €500,000 in salaries and cars between 2012 and 2014.

A further €500,000 was also spent on Console credit cards to pay for a range of things, including holidays and designer clothes. Mr Kelly and his family members also made cash withdrawals of over €87,000 using these cards between 2012 and 2014. However, there were no documents to explain how this money was spent.

The lavish spending by Mr Kelly and his family was featured in a report by the RTÉ Investigations Units this week.

An external examiner appointed to assess the charity's governance and finances, David Hall, has insisted that this situation will not happen again. The board of directors of Console has appointed Mr Hall as interim CEO.

It is understood that the board will now apply to the High Court for help in protecting Console's assets.

Mr Hall added that the staff of the charity had nothing to do with Mr Kelly's actions and they are continuing to work hard and provide essential services to those who need them.