Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 May 2023
298. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Education if she will publish the KOSI report which her Department funded Donegal Education Centre to commission; the amount the report cost; if the recommendations of this report are now in place; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24536/23]
View answerFollowing the discovery of suspected financial irregularities in Donegal Education Support Centre in 2015 the Management Committee tendered and contracted for an external accountant to carry out an audit investigating the matter. KOSI were the successful tenderers and submitted a final report on this issue in December 2016. This report was commissioned by Donegal Education Support Centre and the findings were submitted to the Centre's Management Committee. This report is not the property of the Department of Education and therefore the Department is not in a position to publish it or comment on the findings. Donegal Education Support Centre have confirmed that the recommendations included in the report are now in place. My Department provided funding towards the total cost of this audit.
With regard to Education Centres generally, my Department is progressing a programme of governance modernisation with the aim of continuously improving the governance and accountability structure in the sector. This programme is being informed by the Mazars’ Review of the Department’s Governance, Funding and Accountability arrangements for Education Support Centres and governance requirements for state funded bodies as outlined in the Code of Practice for State Bodies.
