Audit reveals 'deficiencies in internal control' at IFI

In terms of the use made by IFI of dormant accounts funding between 2019 and 2021, the C&AG said that, of €1.18m delivered to the organisation during that timeframe, more than €28,000 was eventually refunded due to the dubious nature in which it had been put to use. Picture: David Creedon

Ireland’s waterways regulator has been sharply criticised over a litany of governance failures, including dozens of credit cards given to employees and an uninsured vehicle involved in an accident leading to a €230,000 repair bill.

The State’s auditor, the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG), has published his special report into Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) after a damaging series of administrative errors and irregularities saw the organisation’s entire board stood down in 2023.