DDDA blames 'administrative confusion' for lack of meetings documentation

The Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA) has blamed "administrative confusion" for the lack of documentation on meetings which took place around the time of the purchase of the Irish Glass Bottle site in Ringsend.

However, a DDDA spokesman said he understood the four board sub-committee meetings around which there is "administrative confusion" did not directly relate to the €400m Irish Glass Bottle purchase.

The "administrative confusion" included the failure to record minutes and the mis-filing of minutes. In one case, a meeting for which it was thought no minutes had been taken did not actually take place at all.

The DDA said that, at the time of the meetings in 2006 and 2007, there were three board sub-committees with overlapping membership - the audit sub-committee, the risk sub-committee and the finance sub-committee. The three sometimes met at the same time and were not always minuted separately.

The three board sub-committees have since been amalgamated and now operate as a single sub-committee.

In a statement, the DDA said: "These issues have been addressed under the current board, chaired by Professor Niamh Brennan, which has set down clear protocols to ensure the full, proper and accurate minutes are kept of all meetings of the Board and its various sub committees."