Disappearance of €63k of theatre funds is probed

An employee of Cork Opera House has been removed from his employment as part of an internal investigation into a payroll issue.

The garda fraud squad has now been called in following the disappearance of €63,000.

The matter came to light following the temporary closure of the venue in early July.

The 1,000-seater venue was closed as part of a cost-cutting exercise. It is set to re-open in September.

It is understood that the issue of the missing money initially came to the notice of an Opera House employee who spotted a discrepancy in their payslip.

A statement released this morning by the Opera House said that the matter was currently under investigation with an amount in the region of €63,000 identified.

It added Pádraic Liston, interim CEO, had led an internal investigation into the matter which was believed to have taken place over the period between May 2009 and the present.

The statement continued that an employee had been removed from his employment.

The statement added: “A review of current internal controls is progressing and the necessary actions will be taken immediately to eliminate future exposures.”

The board also stated that this matter was not related to the recent financial difficulties being experienced by the Opera House, though it had contributed to the current year loss.

Article courtesy of the Evening Echo newspaper.