Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 11 Oct 1994

Vol. 445 No. 6

Written Answers. - Special Schools Financial Abuse.

Alan M. Dukes

Ceist:

140 Mr. Dukes asked the Minister for Finance if financial abuses in the management of a facility (details supplied) in Dublin 11 uncovered in 1988 by an official of his Department on secondment to the Department of Education and referred to in the Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General for 1990 (details supplied) were reported to his Department; if the abuses were discussed with the Secretary of his Department on 5 February 1990, by the official who uncovered them, who had by then returned to his Department; the action, if any, that was taken by his Department in relation to those abuses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [400/94]

Minister for Finance (Mr. B. Ahern)

There is no reference to financial abuses in the management of the facility in question in the record of the discussions referred to in the question.

However I would point out that responsibility for the administration of special schools is a matter for the Minister for Education and any accounting issues are a matter for the Accounting Officer for the Education Votes.

The Comptroller and Auditor General conducted a special project audit on Special Schools which was completed in October 1991. The project report formed part of the 1990 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General, published in November 1991.

The Comptroller and Auditor General's report was discussed in the Committee of Public Accounts. The Secretary of the Department of Education submitted a comprehensive report on Special Schools to the committee in October 1992 indicating that new and streamlined financial control/accounting procedures were being put in place to rectify any deficiencies in the area of financial control. These new procedures included a series of audits of Special Schools which have since been undertaken by the Department of Education.