An internal audit has found that there was a clear breakdown in the financial controls at a partnership forum in the health services which allowed it to pay over €700,000 in lump sums to the trade union Siptu without adequate vouching, the head of the HSE Cathal Magee has said.
In an opening address to the Dáil Public Accounts Committee this morning, Mr Magee said the internal audit concluded that an undocumented change in the financial procedures of the Health Service National Partnership Forum resulted in a situation whereby it was unable to account for its disbursement of lump sums totalling €750,000 in Exchequer funds to the Siptu National Health and Local Authority Levy Fund.
“ This is completely unacceptable in terms of control and governance”, he said.
The HSE chief executive said that the internal Audit reports had identified that un-vouched amounts totalling €750,000 were paid in four lump sums to the Siptu National Health and Local Authority Levy Fund. He said some of this money was subsequently paid by the Siptu National Health and Local Authority Levy Fund to other trades unions.
He said that Siptu had stated that the bank account into which this funding was paid was not an authorised account of the union
“Many of the governance issues and controls weaknesses that emerged in the audit reports arise from the nature of this Partnership operating model – existing as it did – as a satellite entity and a non-statutory body acting outside the mainstream management and organisational control system. “
