A HSE AUDIT of the controversial Skill training programme has found that fundamental elements of internal control were not in place and that there were serious shortcomings in relation to areas such as governance, funding and foreign travel arrangements.
The audit, which will be considered by the Dáil Public Accounts Committee tomorrow, found a significant number of breaches of public sector requirements and HSE policies and procedures in relation to procurement; utilisation of health service contracts; reimbursement of personal mobile phone costs; hotel expenses, taxi usage; public sector recruitment obligations; maintenance of personnel records; superannuation commitments and data protection obligations.
Among the findings of the report were that no financial records for travel or hotel costs were kept in relation to foreign travel to the US, Australia, Hong Kong and the UK. It says one trade union employee arranged and paid for overseas travel for public officials and others and subsequently either claimed back unvouched and unspecified costs from the Skill programme or funded it through a grant the union received from the Department of Health.
It also reveals that relatives of staff associated with the Skill programme were directed to a recruitment agency, which then placed two people on temporary contracts with the Skills office. The relative of one was subsequently appointed to a full-time HSE post and placed on the HSE payroll without an internal or external competition taking place.
The audit also sets out that one former employee was awarded a HSE pension, even though €75,000 had already been paid into a private pension plan.
The report also highlights what it describes as excessive use of taxis associated with the programme. It finds that between 2006 and 2009 one-quarter of all taxi journeys, a total of 83, had taken place outside office hours. It says 74 taxi journeys were made between 7pm and 4am “mainly to and from hotels, restaurants and pubs”.
As revealed in The Irish Timeslast June, the audit report specifically criticises the payment of grants, totalling over €2 million – funded by the Department of Health as part of the allocation to the Skill programme – to a bank account linked to individuals close to Siptu. The union has said the account into which annual grants of €190,000 – €250,000 were paid was not one of its authorised accounts.
“Deficiencies were evident at all stages of the grant process, the awarding of the grant, the communication of the award, the disbursement of and accounting for the grant and the monitoring of and accountability for the grant”.
The audit says neither the former office of health management which channelled the payment to the account prior to the establishment of the HSE nor the Skill programme sought audited annual financial statements from the union in respect of the grant to satisfy themselves that the funds had properly been accounted for.
“Failure to do so was contrary to public financial accountability procedures and financial procedures in place pre and post the establishment of the HSE,” it states.
The audit adds that tax clearance certificate obligations were also breached.