Accountability - Fás wasted money like O’Donoghue

THE annual report from the Comptroller & Auditor General (C&AG) has, over the years, exposed such terrible waste of public resources that we are all in debt to those who prepared it.

Every year it provides us with a few days of indignation and high-octane commentary; it turns the spotlight to the moral high ground. The report usually describes flagrant disregard for ethical standards. This year is no exception. However, our attention is quickly diverted by some other disappointment and we move on.

We seem content to have let off some steam, imagining that indignation is an achievement. Like someone throwing a stone in a cesspool we are happy to make a splash, if only for a moment.