Sports aid audit uncovers suspected fraud
The Department of Sport probe centred on €3.97m of grants approved under its Sports Capital Programme between 2006 and 2011.
Some €3.7m of this funding was drawn down by clubs, but €111,721 was repaid following investigations and some clubs have since been banned from applying for sports capital grants.
A number of cases have been referred to gardaí, including grant aid paid to three GAA clubs.
These include one club which requested €35,000 in funding. Investigations revealed while invoices had been marked paid, the money was never handed over to the service provider involved in the works.
Gardaí confirmed they had “received a number of complaints and investigations are ongoing”.
The GAA declined to comment.
Other organisations under investigation include rugby, soccer, athletics, hockey, martial arts and hunting.
A department source said of the 23 cases highlighted, five are at a preliminary stage with inspections recommended, 12 cases are actively under consideration by the department or being investigated, while six cases are complete.
The €3.9m total thrown up by the department’s investigation includes the €1.75m given to Basketball Ireland for the provision of hoops across the country, of which just €255,000 was spent, as revealed by the Comptroller and& Auditor General.
This case was referred to the gardaí.
Athletics Ireland also had to repay the department €110,000 it failed to spend from a grant of €399,000.
Of the funding spent, some went on items not sanctioned, including vans, a photocopier and laptops.
The department subsequently accepted Athletics Ireland’s explanation that the equipment was needed for the management of athletics events and the monitoring of athletes’ performance.
The audit also found:
* A soccer club received about €20,000 in funding, but, upon investigation, suppliers denied issuing invoices which had been used to draw down the grant.
* A rugby club was given the go-ahead for a grant of over €100,000. Some €30,000 was drawn down, but bank statements have yet to be supplied to demonstrate payment to suppliers.
* A hockey club was given around €100,000 in aid, but subsequently received a refund from a contractor. The club did not inform the department of the refund but, after it was uncovered, they offered to repay any money not spent.
Sports Minister Leo Varadkar issued a warning to prospective applicants and their governing bodies.
“We treat the submission of false or misleading information and documentation very seriously, no matter which sport it concerns. Any sporting organisation that is found to have done so may have their grant withdrawn, be requested to repay grants either in full or in part, and be barred from making applications for a specified period of time.
“Serious breaches of the terms and conditions of the Sports Capital Programme are notified to the gardaí.”
