Siptu fund linked to unspent budgets

A report into the so-called Siptu slush fund has suggested state agencies may have ploughed money into the scheme to avoid giving back unspent budgets.

The report, by the Comptroller and Auditor General, detailed a trail of inadequacies at the €4.4m fund. However, it was unable to account for all its failures because proper accounts were not kept and records were insufficient.

The C&AG report, on the Siptu National Health and Local Authority Levy Fund Account, criticised aspects of oversight by the Health Service Executive and the Department of Public Expenditure.

It said during 2002 to 2009 there was always more money in the fund than was needed and this may have been strategic. And there were many instances where funding was put into the fund just before the end of the year.

“The fund may have acted as a mechanism for public bodies to avoid unused money allocated for partnership purposes being surrendered back to the exchequer at year-end,” the C&AG’s office said.

The report documented a plethora of instances where inappropriate financial management was discovered.

Proper accounts were not kept. And explanations for a host of payments were not provided.

The fund spent €598,000 on travel and accommodation and €348,000 on marketing.

There were travel costs paid for out of public funds that were not linked to work supposed to be undertaken.

There were trips to Lanzarote funded in 2007, 2008 and 2009 which were not work-related. The administrator of the fund said he used its credit card in error and has since repaid the money for the Lanzarote flights.

A single restaurant earned €46,000 in business out of the fund between 2004 and 2009. There were no details kept on the identities of the people entertained or trained as a result.

Separately a claim for €98,000 was submitted by the fund and paid out twice.

It gave almost €50,000 to charities, which the C&AG said might have been worthy but was not within the scope of its objectives.

There were 27 cheques made out to cash which cost €24,000, the administrator said this was because one particular supplier wanted the cheques for cash.

The auditors were unable to identify the beneficiaries for €58,000 paid out to other suppliers where no records kept.

Personal expenditure was charged to the fund and, although €125,000 has been returned, the C&AG said it was impossible to know how much remained because records were not kept.

Since the first revelations regarding the fund came into the public domain in 2010 just under €1m has been returned to the State.