Investigation into VEC financial affairs to be published

A two-year investigation into the financial affairs of the County Cork VEC has been completed and is to be published next month.

The Comptroller and Auditor General confirmed the wide-ranging special inquiry has been signed off and is awaiting responses from the chief executive of Cork ETB, which replaced the CCVEC last year.

The investigation looked at maladministration, serious issues at a youthreach centre in Macroom, the VEC’s accessing of unapproved loans, and a private agreement to set up a sail training programme with a boat that has been on blocks in dry dock.

The man who blew the whistle on the activities of the CCVEC said it will be a race against time to have the investigation published before the current committee disbands in June.

Town councillor Humphrey Deegan, former chair of CCVEC’s audit committee, said it was beholden on the management of the ETB to see there is no further delay and that it responds to the C&AG inside the four-week deadline.

Late last week, the C&AG, Seamus McCarthy, told the Public Accounts Committee his report covers issues raised since 2012.

“I expect comments back from the VEC in the coming weeks and at this stage I expect to sign off on the report in June,” he said.

Problems at CCVEC surfaced in 2011 when audit committee chairman Mr Deegan resigned in protest at the failure of CCVEC to give him the information he felt was required to do his job.