Department was overcharged by more than €40,000 for running colleges

The Department of Education was overcharged by a total of more than €40,000 by two private partner companies for the running of major colleges.

The biggest figure was a €38,600 overcharge last year for the yearly public private partnership (PPP) in relation to Cork School of Music (CSM) for which the department paid €8m.

The contract for operating and maintaining the college began in 2007 and has, so far, cost €52m, with €177m remaining to be paid, based on latest calculations. The annual charges are based on complex calculations that include variable elements linked to inflation, but an error was noticed in the private company’s indexed calculation last year.