Civil servants risk public money ‘like it’s their own’

The public paid a developer 2006 property prices in 2012 after civil servant failures caused a €30m-plus land deal to go wrong — and only got off the hook because the builder was taken over by Nama.

The example of how top-ranking backroom officials are risking “public money like its their own” was outlined at the latest meeting of the Dáil Public Accounts Committee.

According to a review of a handful of flawed financial prudence cases due to be published next week, in 2006 a section of the Department of Environment entered into a “risky” land swap deal with Durkan New Homes.