16 Dec 2013, 16:44
The Oireachtas Joint Committee on European Union Affairs tomorrow meets with the Irish Member of European Court of Auditors Kevin Cardiff to consider their Annual Reports for 2012.
16 December 2013
The Court estimated that 4.8 percent of spending should not have been paid out from the EU budget in 2012. This estimated error rate in an increase from 3.9 percent the previous year, in part due to a change in the ECA’s sampling approach. This follows sustained increases in the estimated error rate since 2009, after having fallen in the three previous years.
Chairman of the Committee Dominic Hannigan TD said: “The Committee looks forward to meeting Kevin Cardiff, who is currently the Irish Member of the European Court of Auditors. In straitened financial times for the Union when value for money is of critical importance, it is timely that the Committee look at the institution tasked with appraising EU financial management. As a Committee, we will be particularly anxious to seek an explanation from Mr Cardiff as to why the estimated error rates in EU spending have been increasing since 2009.”
Deputy Hannigan expressed concern around the Court’s estimated error rate in the highest spending areas. “Rural development, environment, fisheries and health remains the most error-prone spending area in the European Union with an estimated error rate of 7.9 per cent, while spending on regional policy, energy and transport has an estimated error rate of 6.8 per cent. It should be noted that the estimate of the error rate is not a measure of fraud, inefficiency or waste associated with spending. Rather, it is an estimate of the money spent that is in breach of the legislation concerned. Tomorrow’s meeting will focus on how best to ensure EU spending, which in 2012 amounted to €138.6 billion, is delivered with robust financial management safeguards in place.”
The meeting takes place in Committee Room 1, Leinster House 2000 tomorrow Tuesday 17 December at 2 pm. Committee proceedings can be followed here.
Media enquiries to:
Paul Hand,
Communications Unit,
Houses of the Oireachtas,
Leinster House,
Dublin 2
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Committee Membership
Deputies: Eric Byrne, Seán Crowe, Timmy Dooley, Bernard J. Durkan, John Halligan, Dominic Hannigan (Chair), Seán Kyne, Dara Murphy (Vice-Chair) and Joe O’Reilly
Senators: Colm Burke, John Kelly, Terry Leyden, Catherine Noone and Kathryn Reilly