SECRETARY GENERAL of the Department of Agriculture Tom Moran denied he turned a “blind eye” to what was happening at the Irish National Stud at a Dáil Committee yesterday.
He came under intense questioning at a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee from chairman Bernard Allen and Jim O’Keeffe (both FG) who demanded he compile a report for the committee on business practices at the stud.
Mr Moran revealed the Department of Agriculture had no official representative on the board of the stud.
The official who had been appointed had retired from the department, but was still on the board because of his expertise.
He said that while he was the accounting officer for the Department of Agriculture, he was not the accounting officer for the semi-State stud.
The stud did not receive any public funding from the department and was run on a commercial basis. “The Minister appoints the board having consulted with the Minister for Finance and the board is responsible for the day-to-day running of the stud, including matters like expenses and tendering,” he said.
Mr Moran added that the stud presented annual accounts which were audited by an accountancy firm, and it and the board were responsible for the accounts.
The stud had give assurances it was conducting its affairs in accordance with the code of practice for the governance of State bodies, he added.
However, Mr Allen, and Mr O’Keeffe, pointed out that the State was the main shareholder in the stud, which was built on lands owned by the Department of Agriculture and that there had to be some scrutiny of what was going on.
Mr Moran said the Minister for Agriculture would have a role where there might be “reputational issues” to seek information on what was happening and he had done so.
He said the Minister had sought clarification last September when issues were raised in the media and this February had again sought a report from the board on the stud’s finances when losses of €2.3 million were reported.
Mr O’Keeffe said the department had to have a role in monitoring the “enormously extravagant expenses” levels reported in the newspapers and the reports of the way tenders were handled by the stud.
But Mr Moran said the stud was independently audited and the accounts were laid before the House.
The organisation was managed by the board of the stud and it was its responsibility how policy was handled .
Mr Allen said he would like to have Mr Moran compile a report on the operations of the board for the committee in the absence of the committee being unable to call in the board.
Seán Fleming (FF), said he believed the joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture could call in the board to give evidence to it even if the Public Accounts Committee could not do so.
Mr Moran said it was his understanding that the joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture had asked representatives of the stud to appear before it.