EIGHT of the State's 38 vocational education committees (VECs) are to undergo special audits by the Comptroller and Auditor General, the Dail Committee on Public Accounts heard yesterday.
The Comptroller, Mr John Purcell, said he did not want to use the expression "bad boys" in relation to the eight VECs, but some of their financial control systems were outdated.
Mr Purcell told the committee that he will also be carrying out a special audit of all the health boards.
The VECs operate under archaic systems of financial control, Mr Purcell said. His annual report showed that 15 VECs used petty cash for over 5 per cent of transactions. Dublin City VEC had petty cash transactions of over £15 million in 1994 - 35.74 per cent of all payments it made.
Dun Laoghaire had petty cash transactions of over £2 million amounting to 31.29 per cent of all payments.
Mr Purcell explained that the system grew out of legislation enacted in 1931, when petty cash payments to suppliers and employees were made as a matter of convenience.
The only VEC identified in evidence before the committee was Westmeath. Dr Don Thornhill, secretary of the Department of Education, said Westmeath had been "a horror story".
The VEC had spent money it was not entitled to spend. It claimed as an asset an amount of about £400,000 in rent allegedly owed by the Department, when an inspector discovered that no such liability existed.
Mr Eric Byrne (DL) described as "scandalous and frightening" what had happened at Westmeath VEC. "It is something we would never wish to see happen again," Dr Thornhill agreed. He added that the Department had put all VECs under "very severe notice" to keep within their budgets. Dr Thornhill said the Minister for Education will use her powers to abolish any VEC that embarks on unauthorised spending.