The North's Public Accounts Committee has accused the Northern Ireland Fire Authority of irresponsibility after it emerged it had spent £127 to replace three light bulbs.
The revelations came in a report on management performance levels which also revealed the Authority had been charged over £1,000 to change a set of brakes on one of its appliances.
The PAC chairman, Mr Billy Bell, said these examples showed the Authority to be "irresponsible" and said "the whole attitude of the Fire Authority will have to change." The inquiry into the Authority's fleet management for 1998-99 and 1999-2000 claimed FANI had failed to address public sector financial management and accountability.
"We found several shortcomings in the transport workshops, including poor productivity, high hourly labour rates and jobs often taking four times as long as in the private sector," said Mr Bell.
"At one of the workshops, the cost to the Fire Authority to change three lightbulbs was £127 and £1,014 to change a set of front brakes.
"We also highlighted a number of weaknesses in purchasing procedures - in one case £95,000 was paid for a fire appliance six months before it was received," he said.
The overall picture to emerge was of a service which was unacceptably slack in maintaining records and guilty of inappropriate credit card use, he said.
During 1999-2000 the Authority had the worst sickness record of any UK Brigade.
Mr Bell said the acceptance of the weaknesses found by the PAC by Chief Fire Officer John McClelland was an encouraging sign. Mr McClelland pointed out the Authority has been placed under tremendous strain due to an extensive and demanding change programme undertaken in recent years.