All public funds deposited in the controversial Siptu national health and local authority levy fund account will be repaid to the exchequer, the union said this evening.
A statement issued by Siptu repeated its assertion that the account was not approved, operated by or in the control of the union until August this year.
The union also said it never sought public monies paid into the account and never received it nor were they consulted about it. The union said that once the account passed into the union's control in August, "it was immediately frozen and will remain so".
"It goes without saying that any public funds in the account should and will be returned to the Exchequer", the union said.
The money paid into the account relates to a HSE skills training programme established to upskill and assist lower-grade workers in the health service. More than €4 million in grant payments were made to the “Siptu” account over nine years
The bank account was operated by a leading official of the union and a senior member but the union itself has denied it had control over the controversial account. Siptu general secretary Joe O’Flynn said last week the union had “no legal liability whatsoever in this matter” and no court “would hold anyone liable to account for money they never received”.
Last week, the union lodged €348,000 with a commissioner of oaths, saying it would pay back the money if payments to the account were not properly vouched.
Earlier today, the Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee today called for an immediate freeze on funds in the controversial account.
PAC chairman Bernard Allen of Fine Gael said once investigations have been completed, all public funds in the account should be returned to the Exchequer.
The committee today agreed to write to Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan outlining its demands.
“Any abuse of State funds is inappropriate and there is now a need to follow-up on those who were responsible so that they repay the State even where these officials have since retired,” Mr Allen said.
“The Committee will get to the bottom of what has already been described as a slush fund which was under the control of senior union officials who worked in unison with senior public servants. All of this unorthodox activity was rubber stamped by a steering group that was established to develop courses for low paid workers in the health sector.
“What emerged at our meeting last week, relating to breaches of controls, lavish expenditure on taxis and foreign travel, breaches of public procurement rules and breaches of civil service employment law are truly shocking and those responsible for this will have to be held to account.”
Mr Allen said all payments made to public officials that breached public sector travel policy guidelines should be pursued and these officials should repay the State in respect of such expenditure.
Any consultancy payments to former officials from the Skills Programme should be reviewed to establish whether there was a breach of public sector pension abatement rules and, if that is the case, an appropriate repayment must be sought, he added.