D
DOBBER22
Guest
Is it just me thinking that these idiots have outdone themselves :\ is anybody actually running this country? or are the goverment just throwing money at people taxpayers money :mad , this will hurt us all come budget time..
{Story from The Irish Independent}
FINANCIAL bungling is costing taxpayers a fortune.
A litany of cost overruns, mismanagement and blunders involving millions of euro has been uncovered by the Government's financial watchdog.
The explosive report by the Controller and Auditor General reveals that huge sums have been spent by the state on property which was never used.
It exposes the scandal of projects where costs have rocketted far beyond the original estimates. And it highlights the massive overtime paid to some public servants and the money squandered on mismanaged schemes.
As exclusively revealed in the Irish Independent last Friday, John Purcell's report puts particular focus on the controversial deal which indemnifies religious orders against huge claims for abuse in institutions. He says it could cost up to €1bn, more than twice the Department of Education's own estimate.
But that is just one part of this shocking saga of public money squandered. The report also reveals that five properties bought by the state for €20m to house asylum seekers have never been used because of local opposition. One has been sold, a second has gone to another Government agency and the future of others is still undecided.
The owner of one property in Co Carlow, sold to the state, was assaulted, "threatened with being shot" and placed under Garda protection. Another property in Co Kilkenny was never developed because of a planning wrangle - but the OPW had to pay more than €2m of taxpayers' money in compensation to a building contractor.
Other disclosures include:
* The cost of the new Cork School of Music, estimated at €13m, is now likely to hit €100m or more. That project is on hold even though hundreds of thousands of euro are being paid in rent for temporary accommodation.
* Refurbishing Cork courthouse, which started in 1995, still hasn't been completed and the cost has spiralled from an estimate of €6.36m to more than €26m.
* Sick leave in the prison service cost more than €8.6m last year and accounted for almost 15pc of the annual overtime ban.
* A bank audited by the Revenue Commissioners and found to have no bogus non-resident accounts subsequently emerged as harbouring money belonging to 62 tax dodger clients who had to cough up €8.7m.
* A full one-third of fines imposed by the court on tax dodgers are never collected.
The strongest criticism directed at the Government yesterday by the opposition was reserved for the deal with the religious orders, signed by former Education Minister Michael Woods on the last day of the outgoing Fianna Fail/PD Government.
The agreement was described by Labour Leader Pat Rabbitte as the most "scandalously reckless, negligent and profligate deal" entered into in the name of Irish taxpayers.
The public accounts committee will tomorrow start public hearings into how the deal was struck. Senior civil servants will be called.
{Story from The Irish Independent}
FINANCIAL bungling is costing taxpayers a fortune.
A litany of cost overruns, mismanagement and blunders involving millions of euro has been uncovered by the Government's financial watchdog.
The explosive report by the Controller and Auditor General reveals that huge sums have been spent by the state on property which was never used.
It exposes the scandal of projects where costs have rocketted far beyond the original estimates. And it highlights the massive overtime paid to some public servants and the money squandered on mismanaged schemes.
As exclusively revealed in the Irish Independent last Friday, John Purcell's report puts particular focus on the controversial deal which indemnifies religious orders against huge claims for abuse in institutions. He says it could cost up to €1bn, more than twice the Department of Education's own estimate.
But that is just one part of this shocking saga of public money squandered. The report also reveals that five properties bought by the state for €20m to house asylum seekers have never been used because of local opposition. One has been sold, a second has gone to another Government agency and the future of others is still undecided.
The owner of one property in Co Carlow, sold to the state, was assaulted, "threatened with being shot" and placed under Garda protection. Another property in Co Kilkenny was never developed because of a planning wrangle - but the OPW had to pay more than €2m of taxpayers' money in compensation to a building contractor.
Other disclosures include:
* The cost of the new Cork School of Music, estimated at €13m, is now likely to hit €100m or more. That project is on hold even though hundreds of thousands of euro are being paid in rent for temporary accommodation.
* Refurbishing Cork courthouse, which started in 1995, still hasn't been completed and the cost has spiralled from an estimate of €6.36m to more than €26m.
* Sick leave in the prison service cost more than €8.6m last year and accounted for almost 15pc of the annual overtime ban.
* A bank audited by the Revenue Commissioners and found to have no bogus non-resident accounts subsequently emerged as harbouring money belonging to 62 tax dodger clients who had to cough up €8.7m.
* A full one-third of fines imposed by the court on tax dodgers are never collected.
The strongest criticism directed at the Government yesterday by the opposition was reserved for the deal with the religious orders, signed by former Education Minister Michael Woods on the last day of the outgoing Fianna Fail/PD Government.
The agreement was described by Labour Leader Pat Rabbitte as the most "scandalously reckless, negligent and profligate deal" entered into in the name of Irish taxpayers.
The public accounts committee will tomorrow start public hearings into how the deal was struck. Senior civil servants will be called.