Refund for trips may be demanded
The Dáil Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said if the trips were in breach of public sector travel guidelines, the cost should be repaid to the Exchequer, even by those who have retired from the civil service.
Committee chairman Bernard Allen said the “lavish expenditure on taxis and foreign travel” was “truly shocking”. He said: “Those responsible will be held to account.”
It emerged last week that a now retired assistant principal at the Department of Finance, Tom Dowling, travelled to New York on six occasions using the controversial bank account in the name of two SIPTU officials.
PAC is investigating the account, which received up to €4m in grant payments over a nine-year period — the majority from a HSE training programme called Skill, and further funds from the Department of the Environment.
The account trustees were SIPTU officials Matt Merrigan and Jack Kelly, who will be asked to appear before PAC to give evidence.
Mr Dowling and Frank Ahern, a former Department of Health official, participated in a number of “foreign study visits” with SIPTU using this account.
Mr Ahern had retired at the time of the trip and PAC will be asking him and Mr Dowling to give evidence at a committee meeting.
“Any abuse of state funds is inappropriate and there is now a need to follow up on those who were responsible so that they repay the state even where these officials have since retired,” Deputy Allen said.
SIPTU said last night that all public money deposited into the €3m bank account which was in the name of two of its officials, will be repaid.
It expects to publish the results of its investigation into the matter next month.
SIPTU said the account was not in its control until August last year and was immediately frozen. “It goes without saying that any public funds in the account should and will be returned to the Exchequer,” the union said.
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