A row has erupted in West Cork over the administration of millions of in EU LEADER funding.

European debt and deficit rules are too lenient and are applied unevenly across the bloc, EU auditors have said.

The decision not to burn senior bondholders has been proven right, the European Commission has said, confirming it agreed with the ECB’s decision at the time of Ireland’s €62bn bailout.

The Taoiseach’s recent claims about deploying the Army to man ATMs at the height of the banking crisis appear to be true. So what would such a situation entail, asks Tom Clonan

The independent auditor of the European Union's accounts has called for a "wholly new approach" to the way the EU spends and invests its money.

The row between then taoiseach Brian Cowen and his finance minister, Brian Lenihan, on the night of the bank guarantee concerned whether or not to include Anglo Irish Bank in the cover, the banking inquiry will be told on Thursday.

IRELAND’S member of the European Court of Auditors Kevin Cardiff was in charge of the Department of Finance unit that had oversight of banks on that fateful, generation-defining and expensive night — September 29th/30th 2008, “guarantee night” as it has become known.

JobBridge and other schemes designed to help unemployed young people are in danger of being a very expensive waste of money, a report by the European Court of Auditors warned.

The taxpayer may have to pay up to €181m for wrongful claims made by farmers from the EU’s agriculture fund.

I refer to Ann Cahill’s article (Irish Examiner, September 17) concerning a report from the European Court of Auditors entitled ‘EU has ‘wasted’ €500m on fish farms’.

Inland Fisheries Ireland, a statutory body under the aegis of the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, published a report this week that challenges the advisability of Bord Iascaigh Mhara’s plans for Europe’s largest salmon farms at two sites off Galway.

There are big gaps in keeping account of what happens the EU’s €140bn a year budget and it is time the auditing system was overhauled and extended, according to a report from the European Court of Auditors.

The ‘exiting’ of top civil servants must stop, writes Political Reporter Juno McEnroe

THOSE are some waves that Maurice McCabe made. Yesterday’s publication of the review of the Department of Justice is just one in a long line of outcomes from McCabe’s persistence in attempting to highlight wrongdoing in An Garda Síochána.

Get a taste of some of the interesting and quirky happenings in Europe from our Europe correspondent, Ann Cahill.

"Frank assessments of the dynamic within the civil service coming directly from those currently charged with watching over it are rare."

The first secretary-general of the Department of Finance recruited from outside the ranks of the civil service has resigned after only 18 months in the position.

One of the top civil servants in the Government has resigned after less than a year and a half at the head of the Department of Finance.

Parliament hopefuls ready for battle

Recalling the 1745 victory on Fontenoy

County manager Martin Riordan is being urged to put forward a case for a proposed national beet factory to be built on a former Army firing range.

The EU will be seeking to recoup about €5bn from member states after the European Court of Auditors says the rules were not followed in schemes worth about 4% of money spent last year.

Consultants Deloitte initially demanded over €166,000 for a 37-page report on the Government’s €3.6bn accounting error, Finance Minister Michael Noonan has confirmed.

Ryanair has called on the Government to review its policy on travel arrangements for civil servants after it emerged only a fraction of more than €6m spent on air travel last year was with budget airlines.

A 2014 land grab is back on the table after the European Court of Auditors found fault with a CAP reform proposal demanded by Ireland.

Consultants Deloitte are being paid €61,500 to carry out a review into the €3.6bn accounting error recorded at the Department of Finance.

The recruitment process for the post of secretary general at the Department of Finance cost €85,000 — with the post finally going to an internal candidate.

The owner of a French juice bar has been appointed secretary general of the Department of Finance.

VETERAN Labour MEP Proinsias De Rossa is to quit his post next month after nearly 13 years in Brussels.

TAOISEACH Enda Kenny’s meeting with opposition leaders yesterday, to brief them on agreements reached at last week’s EU summit, was entirely appropriate.

The European Parliament in Strasbourg today voted to support the nomination of Kevin Cardiff to the European Court of Auditors.

The Government'ss nominee to the European Court of Auditors Kevin Cardiff looks set to have his appointment ratified today despite an early setback.

The main political grouping in the European Parliament has backed the nomination of Kevin Cardiff to the European Court of Auditors.

TAOISEACH Enda Kenny has said the €3.6 billion accounting error which tripped up Kevin Cardiff’s bid to sit on the European Court of Auditors should not be enough to prevent him taking the job.

THE nomination of Kevin Cardiff to the European Court of Auditors looks certain to be decided by a full sitting of the European Parliament in three weeks’ time.

Enterprise Minister Richard Bruton has reiterated the Government's support for Kevin Cardiff to be appointed to the European Court of Auditors.

TÁNAISTE Eamon Gilmore has denied that Labour “hijacked” the outgoing Irish member of the European Court of Auditors, Eoin O’Shea.

A reminder of just how brutal politics can be, says Political Editor, Paul O’Brien