County Cork VEC: Finally held to account

FOLLOWING two years of denials, the remnants of County Cork VEC has finally had to accept its house was not in order. While managing its €100m annual budget, it failed to keep proper accounts and, because of these shortcomings, it underpaid it taxes.

Poor practices had first been uncovered in an internal audit of a Youthreach centre in Macroom in late 2011. The audit highlighted instances where PAYE and PRSI had not been properly deducted and tuition hours were incorrectly recorded.

However, after it began engaging with the tax authorities a year later, a more comprehensive review of its books was commissioned.