The Office of Public Works has recovered £127,000 from a fraud involving claims for premises which it rents, the Dail Committee of Public Accounts heard yesterday.
A total of £369,590 was taken from the OPW centring on falsified rent increases, as well as service and maintenance charges. The OPW chairman, Mr Barry Murphy, said the money had been recovered through a High court order attaching the sale of a Dublin house. These proceedings had arisen from a Garda investigation which was at an advanced stage. He was confident the full amount would be recovered.
The fraud centred on falsified rent increases. Rental irregularities amounting to £177,000 were first discovered in 1995. The full extent came to light following a Garda Fraud Squad investigation.
A 1996 investigation into the payments system was carried out by Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC). Mr Robin Menzies of PWC said the firm was asked to ensure future rental payments were valid. There were 406 properties rented by the OPW on the database, paying out almost £20 million annually.
Mr Menzies said a modification made to the database which controlled the rent payment meant a fraud perpetuated in the mid-1980s continued to be made on an annual or more frequent basis.
The committee told the OPW to put in place systems for authorising payments acceptable to the Comptroller and Auditor General. It also wants an audit on the £20 million spent annually by the OPW on renting properties.