Comptroller to probe Ireland's 'farcical' spending on campaign for UN Security Council seat

Comptroller and Auditor General Seamus McCarthy has received a complaint from Senator Gerard Craughwell, who is a member of the Oireachtas Foreign Affairs Committee, expressing concern in relation to the expenditure of Ireland’s UN Security Council campaign, alleging that public procurement rules had been broken. Photo: Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie
The Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) is set to investigate spending on Ireland’s UN Security Council campaign after it emerged that €125,000 was used to buy branded merchandise including 950 pairs of novelty socks.
The state spending watchdog will also examine claims that public procurement rules were broken in relation to purchases that included nearly €35,000 on custom notebooks, €8,281 on 650 branded keep cups, and €5,650 on 200 wooden pens.