14 Noll 2011, 18:20
A report prepared by SIPTU which raises questions about accountability lapses in the Department of Health and the HSE will be considered by the PAC tomorrow, 15th December.
State bodies paid in more than €4million to an account which, while under the control of two union officials, was not an authorised union account. The account has since been closed and the balance in the account has been returned to the Exchequer.
The Committee of Public Accounts in the last Dáil was told that the SIPTU fund was used to bring civil servants abroad on trips, some of which coincided with St Patrick’s Day. The USA was the destination for 18 of these trips.
Chairman of the Committee John McGuinness stated that the latest documentation from the HSE, whose internal audit unit has done a lot of work to try to fill accountability gaps, shows that a sum of €1.154 million does not have documentation to back up the payment.
Deputy McGuinness said: “This episode shows what can happen when proper controls are not stipulated when money is handed over to a third party. There was a major failure of governance and accountability in the use of these funds.
The SIPTU report points the finger clearly at the Department of Health, which set up these procedures, and the HSE and concludes that the HSE should have provided greater clarity on fund usage when it agreed that money would be given to a union for onward dispersal.
At the end of the day, taxpayers’ money was not used appropriately and the PAC will be asking why money that is not properly vouched should not be returned to the exchequer. Those hard questions will have to be asked tomorrow.”
Cathal Magee, CEO of the HSE, Michael Scanlan, the Secretary General of the Department of Health, and Geraldine Tallon, Secretary General of the Department of the Environment, will appear before the PAC tomorrow, Thursday, 15th December in Committee Room 1, Leinster House at 10 am.
Committee proceedings can be followed live at:
http://www.oireachtas.ie/ViewDoc.asp?fn=/documents/livewebcast/Web-Live.htm&CatID=83&m=o
Ends
For further information please contact:
Ciaran Brennan,
Houses of the Oireachtas,
Communications Unit,
Leinster House,
Dublin 2
P: +3531 618 3903
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F: +3531 618 4551
Committee of Public Accounts
Membership
John McGuinness (Chairman)
Kieran O’Donnell (Vice Chairman)
Paul J Connaughton,
John Deasy,
Paschal Donohoe,
Anne Ferris,
Simon Harris,
Michael McCarthy,
Mary Lou McDonald,
Sean Fleming,
Eoghan Murphy,
Derek Nolan,
Shane Ross