Spotlight on corruption inside Irish state institutions
Controversy surrounding Irish public broadcaster RTE involving hidden payments and secret slush funds for music concerts, sports tickets, car loans, expensive hotels and restaurants reminds me of an investigation I conducted into misspending by another state body.
The two examples underscore the constant need for vigilance over the spending of public money by such bodies.
Having moved to Donegal in the northwestern part of the country – an Irish speaking area known as a Gaeltacht, one of several in Ireland – I was approached as a journalist by many angry local people to investigate the spending of tens of millions of euro by Údarás na Gaeltachta, a national Irish-language organisation responsible for economic, social and cultural development.
After comprehensive research including a series of interviews and detailed Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, I was stunned to discover the extent of financial waste and utter misuse of public money by Údarás – corruption by any another name, some might say – including all-expenses paid holidays in Florida for some executives and board members and their spouses, which was counter to existing regulations.
During the year I conducted my investigation, pensions alone for 136 former Údarás employees amounted to 9.8 million euro, half that year’s entire budget, which caused then Public Accounts Committee (PAC) member Sinn Fein Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh to declare, “I nearly fell off the chair when I heard that.”
Five Donegal board members alone were paid more than half a million euro in fees and expenses over a five-year period between 2004 and 2009.
Key question remains: has the situation changed?
Údarás said each job it helped create back then cost around 8,000 euro, but the actual figure turned out to be 88,000 euro, ten times that number. It also spent more than 30,000 euro on all-expenses paid trips including business-class flights to Halifax, Canada to look at seaweed projects, as well as hefty expenses to other international cities including Las Vegas, Shanghai, Los Angeles and Chicago. Such was the absolute accounting mess, Bernard Allen, former Fine Gael TD and head of the PAC back then told me the expenses system of Údarás was “simply incomprehensible.”
Údarás had become a free-for-all feeding trough for some board members and executive managers, with blatant conflicts of interest abundant. In short, the situation seemed to have become one of ‘you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.’
Liam O’Cuinneagain, chairperson of Údarás for ten years then and founder of Oideas Gael in in Glencolmcille, Donegal described the investigation into his organisation’s spending as “paranoia” and said he was “satisfied” with its performance.
After approaching the editor of the ‘Donegal News,’ a leading newspaper in the region, I completed a three-part investigation into the situation but then had to face highly-paid spin doctors for Údarás which did its very worst to prevent the series from being published, including threatening late-night calls to my home.
Padded expenses, lucrative pensions and international trips were only the tip of the ice-berg of misspending. Imagine how a small community centre or school offering classes and activities as Gaeilge or an Irish-language theatre such as Amharclann in Donegal could have used such scarce money.
You can see some of my stories below.
Údarás na Gaeltachta, like RTE over the last few weeks, came under scrutiny by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) back then but the government fell in the midst of the investigation, the PAC was disbanded and the investigation was never resumed after the subsequent election.
Some of those leading Údarás na Gaeltachta, both in Donegal and nationally at that time, have retired or resigned, all on very generous pensions, among the highest in Ireland’s civil service. It is hoped the present leaders are honest and transparent in their dealings. Only time will tell. Or another investigation by an enterprising journalist or a concerned citizen.
Shocking revelations at RTE and at Údarás na Gaeltachta should be a stark warning to us all. Sadly, leaders of such state and semi-state organisations with huge budgets at their disposal, if left unexamined, are tempted to misuse public money for personal gain. It is up to each one of us – private individuals and our elected representatives – to keep a close eye on how they spend that money. As both examples clearly demonstrated, we cannot rely on board member oversight alone.
Both RTE and Údarás na Gaeltachta managed for many years to avoid public examination, the former because it was the all-powerful state broadcaster with political cronyism being a major factor in executive employment there, the latter because it was involved in the Irish language, a sacred cow in Ireland not to be questioned or criticised and it had – and still has – a big bucket of money to hand out in grants which can, in itself, buy silence.
What saddens me most is that both these organisations – RTE and Údarás na Gaeltachta – have vital roles to play in the economic, cultural and social development of Ireland so when they mislead the public, the very people who pay their high salaries and expenses, it is even more unforgivable.
Suck key institutions should be supported, but not unquestionably so.
After the RTE shambles, should Údarás na Gaeltachta and other such state bodies not come under extensive examination on a regular basis to make sure public money is being spent properly?
Should Údarás na Gaeltachta, for its own benefit, not be subject to the oversight of the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA)’s NewEra unit, which provides financial and commercial advice to Government ministers and departments, the primary goal of the NTMA being to deliver long-term value to the Irish people?
Sean Hillen 