Erroneous €19k bonus ‘not being pursued’

THE possibility that a €19,000 bonus given in error by a state board may never be recovered from an ex-employee has been condemned by the head of the Oireachtas spending watchdog.

The National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB) has refused to comment on reports this week that it is no longer pursuing its former IT manager, Neil Ryan, for the money paid to him six years ago, even though it did not have a bonus scheme at the time.

The payment emerged in a 2007 report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) into financial controls at the board, which also revealed irregularities in the tendering for more than €900,000 worth of IT equipment and services.