TV3 bosses have frozen a bank account holding thousands of euro raised by the Irish public to help in the search for missing Madeleine McCann.
Almost EUR25,000 was donated by broken-hearted viewers after the station launched its own appeal in June to raise cash to help find the toddler.
But the cash has since remained untouched in TV3's Madeleine McCann fund bank account in AIB headquarters in Ballsbridge, Dublin.
TV3 is now refusing to pass on the cash to the official Madeleine's Fund set up by her parents - because it is not a recognised charity.
And a spokesman for TV3 also admitted the cash raised may never go towards the fund.
He revealed: "It is the intention of TV3 to hold the funds in the account until a properly registered and recognised charity for Madeleine McCann is established.
"If such a charity is not established TV3 will either donate the funds to a registered charity in the area of child abduction and protection, or we may seek the views of the donors on how to disperse the funds."
The fund, which had the backing of the entire station including presenters Lorraine Keane, Mark Cagney and Alan Hughes, was launched in a huge wave of publicity on June 1 - three weeks after Maddy, four, vanished.
It was sparked after what a spokesman for TV3 called "intense viewership interest" in the story of the little girl who disappeared from her parent's apartment in Portugal more than six months ago.
The appeal lasted eight days and featured a number of special TV bulletins dedicated to the campaign to find Madeleine....read more
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4161/is_20071111/ai_n21103554/
Almost EUR25,000 was donated by broken-hearted viewers after the station launched its own appeal in June to raise cash to help find the toddler.
But the cash has since remained untouched in TV3's Madeleine McCann fund bank account in AIB headquarters in Ballsbridge, Dublin.
TV3 is now refusing to pass on the cash to the official Madeleine's Fund set up by her parents - because it is not a recognised charity.
And a spokesman for TV3 also admitted the cash raised may never go towards the fund.
He revealed: "It is the intention of TV3 to hold the funds in the account until a properly registered and recognised charity for Madeleine McCann is established.
"If such a charity is not established TV3 will either donate the funds to a registered charity in the area of child abduction and protection, or we may seek the views of the donors on how to disperse the funds."
The fund, which had the backing of the entire station including presenters Lorraine Keane, Mark Cagney and Alan Hughes, was launched in a huge wave of publicity on June 1 - three weeks after Maddy, four, vanished.
It was sparked after what a spokesman for TV3 called "intense viewership interest" in the story of the little girl who disappeared from her parent's apartment in Portugal more than six months ago.
The appeal lasted eight days and featured a number of special TV bulletins dedicated to the campaign to find Madeleine....read more
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4161/is_20071111/ai_n21103554/
