asked the Taoiseach whether proceeds from the national lottery were used to fund the purchase of a computer, terminals and data processing equipment in his Department and the amount involved.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Purchase of Technological Equipment.
2.
Urgent additional computerisation at a cost of £193,000 was undertaken in my Department in 1987 out of savings in the Department's Vote. The savings arose from the receipt of national lottery funds for cultural purposes and from savings in salaries and travel. The computer expenditure was made by virement between subheads in accordance with standard Government accounting procedures.
Does the Taoiseach now accept that this was an illegal use of the lottery funds, the purpose of that funding not being covered by section 5 of the National Lottery Act, 1986, which specifies the purposes for which lottery funds can lawfully be applied and very specifically sets forth those purposes?
No, I could not accept that. The matter is absolutely in order. The lottery funds were, in fact, dedicated to cultural purposes. Under the well known and well established financial document virement the funds were used for this other purpose.
My understanding of virement was that it involved a transfer from one subhead to another. Surely the Taoiseach will accept that moneys coming into his Department from the national lottery may not be transferred under the virement rule, because the Act under which they came in, the National Lottery Act, does not permit of such transfer.
I should like to suggest to the Deputy that both he and I are a little out of our depth in this matter. It is a matter of technical finance administration. The transaction is, I understand, fully in accordance with established financial procedures and has been validated by the accounting officer concerned and presumably by the Comptroller and Auditor General. The matter has also been aired at meetings of the Committee of Public Accounts.
I do not accept the Taoiseach's explanation. I suggest that this was an illegal use of lottery funds. They were not Exchequer funds which were transferred from one subject to another; they were lottery funds which were specifically covered by the Act. Will the Taoiseach agree that it should be incumbent on him — and his Ministers — to ensure that all moneys must be spent in accordance with the law and that the greatest care must be taken that the law is not broken in the expenditure of any public money?
Of course I fully subscribe to that and that is what happened in this case.
The Taoiseach should reprimand the Minister for Finance as he is playing fast and loose with public money.