FG claim ‘lack of financial expertise’
Despite having a budget of some €16bn per year via the HSE, the Health Department can only boast one qualified accountant — yet the much smaller Environment Department contains 47.
Fine Gael senator Pascal Donohoe expressed alarm at what he called the lack of financial expertise at major spending wings of Government like health, social and family affairs and education.
The senator said it was a matter of concern that those three departments will spend more than €29bn this year, yet contain eight qualified accountants in total.
“Spending of this magnitude must always be scrutinised carefully — businesses that spend a fraction of this money have more accountants than these departments.
“This is taxpayers’ money and it is hardly surprising the Government is failing to provide a decent public service, when its biggest-spending departments have so little oversight.
“With such a large pool of civil servants to draw on, I would expect the Government to ensure that each department would have sufficient staff to ensure that the spending of taxpayers’ money is always scrutinised carefully,
“Having strong accountants in place in key Government departments is crucial to ensure that spending is properly scrutinised, that funding is properly accounted for and that cost-benefit analyses of key capital spending is done on a regular basis and is properly used,” he said.
Ministers were asked to list the number of qualified management and chartered accountants working in their departments via parliamentary answers.
Health minister Mary Harney confirmed: “There is currently one person employed in my department at the grade of professional accountant.”
Social and Family Affairs Minister Mary Hanafin said her department employed four chartered accountants, but other staff with accountancy qualifications were employed, but not deployed in that capacity.
Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe said his department had two chartered accountants and one chartered management accountant and that specialist accounting support is provided to assist the department in areas such as the finance unit,
Of the 47 accountants employed by the Department of the Environment, 40 are part of the local government audit service.
The probe found the department of the Taoiseach had just one accountant in its ranks.
