National debt - Simple errorbig mistake

NOT for the first time, a simple accounting error has left a big dollop of egg on the face of semi-state bodies.

Thankfully, as it turns out, the Government has a smile on its collective face because the error means the national debt is €3.6 billion less than expected.

The explanation for this fortuitous cock-up is that when the National Treasury Management Agency advanced the money to another agency, both debited the money, a basic accounting error. The end result of this bizarre scenario is embarrassment on all sides.

Sadly, the discovery is unlikely to mean softer austerity measures in the budget. The question being asked is whether state agencies are operating in a vacuum devoid of communication — like telephones? Of one thing we can be sure — no civil servant will be carpeted as a result of this example of botched accounting. And that makes a mockery of accountability.