The director of Limerick education centre resigned last April and the Department of Education requested the centre's management committee to refer possible serious financial irregularities to the Garda.
The Department's internal audit of the centre had found that £47,000 was unaccounted for while another £70,000 approximately was "either withdrawn, cashed or transferred from the centre's bank account to other accounts".
The Department issued its audit of the centre last April. It is one of 19 full-time and nine part-time education centres which provide training and resources for local teachers, parents and management bodies. The internal audit raised "serious questions in relation to the adequacy, effectiveness and application of the internal control systems within the centre".
It noted instances where the director, who was appointed in 1978, was in serious breach of administrative and financial regulations and where serious financial irregularities may have arisen.
The Department subsequently withheld further payments to the centre and the management committee froze existing bank accounts and opened fresh accounts with new signatories. The matter is now being investigated by gardai.