€378,000 in Údarás travel expenses to be reviewed

TRAVEL EXPENSES of €378,000 incurred by Údarás na Gaeltachta personnel in the last five years will be reviewed following a direction from the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.

Business class and economy flights to destinations including Penang, Hong Kong and Capetown, and related expenses, for Údarás board members cost a total of €378,218.46 between 2005 and 2010.

The department has formally written to the chief executive officer of Údarás requesting a review of claims relating to trips abroad be undertaken by the organisation’s independent audit committee. The report will be provided to the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

PAC chairman Bernard Allen of Fine Gael claimed the expenses outlined in some media reports were “reading like a mini-Fás”, at a meeting of the committee last month. However, Údarás na Gaeltachta has strongly disputed what it called “misinformation on travel by Údarás executives” and insisted its expenditure on travel complied fully with Department of Finance guidelines.

Correspondence between the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs and the PAC reveal details of all foreign travel undertaken by Údarás na Gaeltachta personnel from 2005 to date. The purpose of travel included a visit to a seaweed processing company in Halifax and attending Boston Seafood Show; meetings with various IDA offices and companies in the United States and meeting IDA New York and Bord Fáilte.

In 2005, €49,251 was spent on flights and €42,390 on related costs. In 2006, €41,572 was spent on flights and €34,748 on other costs. The following year, €51,322 went on flights and €43,347 on other costs. In 2008, spending on flights was €39,371, with an additional €38,144 on related costs. By 2009, spending on flights had dropped to €7,025, with €13,087 on other costs and this year €8,891 has been spent on flights and €9,064 on related expenses.

A letter from the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs to the PAC said that in order for Údarás na Gaeltachta to fulfil its statutory remit relating to the economic development of the Gaeltacht, the department “recognises the requirement for a certain level of expenditure by that body on travel and subsistence, both within Ireland and abroad. The necessity of keeping these costs to a minimum is raised formally by the Department with Údarás on a regular basis,” the letter stated.