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THE CHAIRMAN OF the Public Accounts Committee has called for officials in the Department of Finance to explain the error which saw €3.6 billion in state funds counted twice in the government finances.
After the error came to light, the CSO said that the state was neither better or worse off as a result of the mistake.
The Minister for Finance said this morning that a potential error was flagged in an email to the department last year, but was not dealt with until it came to light again more recently.
PAC chair and Fianna Fáil TD John McGuinness told RTÉ Morning Ireland that the committee has called for further details on the situation from the Department of Finance, the NTMA and the Housing Finance Agency (HFA) in order to get a “comprehensive explanation” on how and why the account error occurred.
He criticised the department for what he said was a culture of ignoring outside sources, saying that the PAC had contacted the department 22 times last year with recommendations on a number of issues. The department failed to respond to any of them, he said.
McGuinness also said both the department and the NTMA were before the committee a few weeks ago and had the opportunity to talk about the €3.6bn so they’ve left the PAC and the public in the dark over the issue.
He claimed that over 2010, the Department of Finance allowed “significant overspend” across a number of departments last year.
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Speaking to Newstalk’s Breakfast programme earlier today, Minister for Finance said the mistake is “very serious”, but that he is more worried about ensuring the overall system works than if any one person is to blame.
“My concern is not about an individual error… my concern is that the systems are sufficient to ensure that if one person makes a mistake” crosschecks are in place to catch the error, the minister said.
An email from the NTMA questioning how the €3.6bn was being treated in the public accounts was sent to the department last year, he said, but was not followed up.
He said that in preparing the Budget this year, the issue came to light again and action was subsequently taken.
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State no better or worse off because 3.6 billion was accounted for twice. If that’s the case who in god’s name is running the country when they can make such a accounting error and it’s inconsequential. This error is a mistake of the highest order but like everything in this country no one will be held to account ( if you will forgive the pun).
If it where a small error in cents but such an error is what this government and the previous shower have been taking out of the Irish budget for the last three years of austerity. The budget coming up in a few weeks will be another slash and burn budget leaving us with not alot of hairshirt left to cover our modesty. It’s time for this government to stop and have a overall review of departments and to actually check the qualifications of the accountants, if such a simple mistake can be made.
That is assuming there are any accountants working there. Of course the DoF considers themselves the cream of the Civil Service, if this is the cream please give me the milk that can add 2 and2.
Well, the error occurred under the previous administration that had run the Department of Finance for over a decade before that. Any systemic management troubles in there can’t really be blamed on Michael Noonan, finance minister for all of eight months. But the entire department needs to be seriously cleaned up and out – It has shown itself incapable of managing the national finances, right down to counting how much we owe as it happens.
Now if only we had said ‘yes’ in the Oireachtas referendum would this have been one of the situations where they could have taken action? : )
Ahh genius, you should be a spin doctor with a mind like that
I am self employed & when I was due a rebate for vat I had to submit every little detail & a list of my work activities. Guess how much I was due? Nine euros. Now I would see that as a little bit less important than 3.6 billion or maybe I’m wrong. But it gives you an idea what wer up against
One thing I don’t get is how can you get a credit for €3.6 billion and it not make a difference. Surely there €3.6 billion better off.
If the Public Accounts Committee shrugs its collective shoulder 22 times AND no response from the Dept. of Finance it makes me wonder who is pulling the shots? The P.A.C. would, I presume, be one of the most powerful all-party committees created to watch over government spend and yet for a year and 22 requests to the D.o.F….. no response??? Does anyone think this is very odd? Do the TD’s on this committee lack sufficient backbone to supervise what is essentially the hired help: not another arm of the body elect! (I cringe thinking this) If our elected representatives fail in this most perfunctory of tasks within good household governance then what chance have we (the citizenry) of ever realising a fully functional government providing the services we require. Oh dear P.A.C. will you please come to your senses and at least act like you understand the power invested by us to you……. and get on with!
€36 you may not miss, €360 you’d question, feckin €3.6 bn … Seriously an embarrassing human error … Incompetent , like so many more previously.
groupthink ?
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