PAC vows to tackle state bodies’ wasteful spending

THE state’s financial watchdog has pledged to tackle waste and pursue greater accountability among public sector agencies after a series of damning reports.

A series of critical reports into the running of public agencies looked at the health service, jobs agency FÁS, the third-level sector and issues leading up to the bank guarantee, among other areas.

Newly elected chairman John McGuinness of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) yesterday vowed to get value for money in public services and shake up badly run agencies.

“The people of this country are demanding that these bodies operate to the high standards that our private and professional sectors must reach to achieve international success,” he said.

The PAC inquiries were carried out between mid-2009 and February of this year.

In a summary report yesterday, members called for a better oversight of public bodies to eliminate waste as well as the need to stick to contracts paid for by the state.

The PAC investigations concluded that:

* A farm management waste scheme to help upgrade farms initially estimated to cost €248 million ended up costing about €1.1 billion.

* The Department of Communications invested in broadband in a number of towns where the likelihood of long term return on the investment is low.

* The state paid €22,750 in travel costs for the spouses of three FAS officials. Normally those expenses are paid by the official concerned.

* Extensive foreign travel by executive HSE staff with the skill steering group was not undertaken at the behest of the group. No feedback was returned on the so-called learning trips to places such as the US.

* Unauthorised payments were made to university staff over 10 years up until 2009. Unauthorised payments to UCD alone amounted to €1m over one year.

* Key management information on which to judge the impact of the FÁS Competency Development Programme, on which €126 million was spent, is not available to the state.

* A third-level lecturer held down full-time jobs in two third-level colleges for nine years before the matter was detected.

* The Department of Finance didn’t have a full picture of the state of Irish banks’ loan books when the Government introduced the bank guarantee in September 2008.