Committee Reports > List of Committees > Dáil > 1939 > Committee of Public Accounts > Report - Appropriation Accounts 1936 - 1937

REPORT

PART I.—GENERAL OBSERVATIONS

Minute of the Minister for Finance dated 24th December, 1938.

Over-Estimation.

1. The Committee welcomes the action taken by the Minister as stated in paragraph 3 of his Minute, to ensure that the provisions inserted in the Estimates are related as closely as possible to probable expenditure. The Committee trusts that as a result of the Minister’s request to. Accounting Officers, greater accuracy in estimating requirements will be revealed in future accounts. The Committee intends to keep this matter under review in future years.

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE AND UNEMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE

Payments by Local Authorities under Section 26 of the Unemployment Assistance Act, 1933.

2. The Committee notes that the possibility is being examined by the Department of Industry and Commerce of solving, by the promotion of legislation amending the Unemployment Assistance Acts, the difficulties that have arisen, and it wishes to be informed of the decision reached in due course.

PART II.—PARTICULAR ACCOUNTS.

Public Works and Buildings.

3. With regard to lands and buildings, the property of the State, which are administered by the Office of Public Works and the Department of Defence, the attention of the Committee is drawn to the fact that neither Department has compiled a permanent record of these properties or carried out a periodical survey of them. It also seems that the general control of some properties used for the purposes of the Defence Forces is vested in the Office of Public Works and that this circumstance gives rise to some confusion. The Committee is of opinion that it is very desirable that complete registers and rentals of all State lands and buildings should be compiled by the Departments charged with their administration, and that a regular perambulation of State properties should be carried out periodically. While the Committee understands that this work is of considerable magnitude, it hopes that the Departments concerned will undertake it without undue delay, and it wishes to be informed in due course of the progress made.

Attention was also drawn to the non-existence of complete inventories of plant, machinery and other contents of buildings under the Commissioners’ charge. While it recognizes the special difficulty of preparing a comprehensive inventory of all articles included within the category owing to their varied nature, the Committee is of opinion that, in order to safeguard property of this description, a proper system of accounting, including the periodical reconciliation of stocks, is essential, and it hopes that this matter will receive attention.

The necessity and importance of regular perambulation of property and of maintaining the records and inventories referred to above is exemplified by the irregularities which were disclosed in a case which the Committee has had under consideration. In this case a manufacturing firm, to whom part of a Military Barracks had been leased, entered and took possession of an additional portion of the Barracks and used it as a factory without, apparently, the cognisance and authority of the Army Authorities or the Commissioners of Public Works.

The Committee was informed that this building was at the time under the administration and control of the Army and the keys of the premises encroached on were given over without proper authority to the firm by a military caretaker. The unauthorised occupation was only discovered after a considerable time by an officer of the Board of Works. The Committee views with grave concern the circumstances connected with this case, in which it was possible for a firm to occupy and use State property without authority and to continue in unauthorised possession of it for a prolonged period.

The Committee wishes to emphasise the necessity for taking all adequate measures to control and safeguard State property by securing effective co-ordination and co-operation between the Departments concerned. The Committee will be glad to learn what steps have been taken in this direction.

Haulbowline Dockyard.

Appendix III.

4. The Committee considered a memorandum submitted by the Accounting Officer regarding an amount of £2,500 received from out-going tenants at the Dockyard in satisfaction of claims against them under the maintenance and repair clauses in their lease. This sum was, after negotiations, accepted in discharge of the tenants’ liability, and was the amount which, in the Commissioners’ opinion, could reasonably be demanded. It appears from the evidence that the amount of damage done by the lessees was £12,000 or more and the Committee cannot agree with the decision of the Commissioners to accept £2,500 in full settlement of their claim. The Committee again wishes to emphasise that every care and precaution should be taken to safeguard the State against any possible loss or damage arising from lettings of Government property and that Departments charged with the administration and control of properties should ensure that the terms and conditions of leases or tenancies are observed and enforced.

Secondary Education.

5. Expenditure incurred in connection with the production of a glossary of words and phrases in use in a Gaeltacht area was charged against the provisions for the publication of Irish Text Books. The Committee is of opinion that the expenditure in question more properly falls to be met from the provision in the Vote for Science and Art for general literature in Irish and that future expenditure should be charged accordingly.

It appears that the preparation of the work in question will occupy a number of years and that the completed work will run to several volumes. The production was undertaken under a general scheme sanctioned by the Department of Finance, but, in view of the magnitude of the work, it is considered it should have been made the subject of a special scheme and that the specific prior approval of that Department should have been obtained before the arrangements with the author were completed.

Local Government and Public Health.

Qns. 252-260

6. The Committee had under consideration the failure to take a Supplementary Estimate for payments made under the authority of amending Housing Acts passed in April and July, 1936; and also the omission to enlarge the ambit of the Vote when taking a Supplementary Estimate for the expenses of a new scheme, administered by the Department of Local Government and Public Health, for the supply of beef to persons in receipt of home assistance and unemployment assistance. In the first case, expenditure under the 1936 Acts was charged to the Vote although the Estimate provided only for payments under the Housing (Financial and Miscellaneous Provisions) Acts, 1932 and 1934. It is difficult to understand why provision for the expenditure in question was not made when taking a Supplementary Estimate in November, 1936, for other expenditure. In the second case, the Supplementary Estimate taken in November, 1936, included provision for the expenses of the beef scheme but no steps were taken to enlarge the ambit of the Vote as narrated in the original Estimate which, it is clear, could not be regarded as covering the scheme. The ambit of the Vote for 1937-38 was suitably enlarged in a Supplementary Estimate taken for the service of the year 1937-38, and this Supplementary Estimate also covered expenditure under the 1936 Housing Acts, but this Estimate could not be regarded as regularising the payments made in the year under review.

The Committee wishes strongly to express the view that the earliest opportunity should be taken to obtain Parliamentary sanction for any deviation from an Estimate or for expenditure not falling clearly within the ambit of a Vote.

Garda Siochana.

7. Reference was made to cases of embezzlement of certain fees for verification of Weights and Measures and to the system under which assessment and collection are carried out by the same official. It appears to the Committee that the appropriate fund would be more adequately safeguarded if arrangements were introduced which required that payment should be made to the headquarters of the Department of Justice.

Superannuation and Retired Allowances.

8. In the calculation of a pension awarded under Section 11 of the Superannuation Act, 1936, an addition of five years service was allowed under the provisions of Section 28 of the Act. The Comptroller and Auditor-General expressed doubt as to the applicability of Section 28 to cases coming within the scope of Section 11 and the Accounting Officer undertook to refer the matter to the law officers for advice. The Committee will be glad to learn, in due course, the result of the reference.

At paragraph 17 of its last report, dated the 9th December, 1937, the Committee commented on an award of compensation under Section 6 of the Superannuation Act of 1909 to an officer who had been removed from office, and expressed the view that the circumstances were not such as to justify the award.

Attention has been drawn to a further award made in somewhat similar circumstances and the Committee again feels compelled to dissent from the action taken. In both cases the officers removed were superseded with a view to the more satisfactory discharge of the duties of their offices. The Committee cannot agree that a change in personnel alone necessarily satisfies the conditions of greater efficiency and economy prescribed by the relevant legislation.

Industry and Commerce.

9. The Committee has had its attention drawn to a number of questions connected with the building of the Industrial Alcohol Factories, including the delay in placing the contract and in the completion of the works, the consequent liability for payment of £6,500 to the Minister’s technical advisers arising from the necessity for the retention of their services beyond the period provided for in their agreement with the Minister, and the decisions to waive the requirement that the contractors should enter into a bond for the due performance of the work within the specified time and not to invoke any of the penalty clauses inserted in the contract. From the explanations given by the Accounting Officer in his evidence and in the memorandum submitted by him it appears that the delay in placing the contract was due to the issue of fresh invitation to tender, involving the preparation of new bills of quantities, rendered necessary by the unsatisfactory response in the first instance, when the bills were calculated in the metric system. It is stated also that, having fully considered all the circumstances, it was decided not to require the contractors to enter into a bond. It is further stated that as the delay in carrying out the contract in the time specified was due to causes outside the contractors’ control, principally bad weather and strikes, it was decided that the contractors were not liable for penalties.

The Committee has given careful consideration to all the information placed at its disposal and is not satisfied that the delays referred to were unavoidable. It feels that the desirability of the calculation of quantities conforming to Irish practice should have been foreseen. Apart from the extra expenditure of public moneys involved in the additional payments to the Minister’s technical advisers and for the preparation of bills of quantities a second time a considerable indirect loss presumably arose from the delay in bringing the factories into production.

External Affairs.

10. The attention of the Committee has been drawn to the collection of fees for passport, visa, and consular services in circumstances in which stamps were not affixed to the relative documents. The Committee notes the explanation of the Accounting Officer. It observes, however, that the absence of a stamp from a document to which a stamp is normally affixed has no bearing on the validity or otherwise of the document concerned, and feels that this position appears to negative the advantages in relation to safeguarding of public funds afforded by the stamp system. The Committee suggests that it is desirable that documents on which fees are chargeable should be invalid unless duly stamped and that this fact should be clearly indicated on the face of the documents.

Army.

11. On more than one occasion in recent years this Committee found it necessary to comment on losses of public funds attributable to the non-observance of regulations, and to the absence of proper supervision over subordinate officers. Attention is again drawn to losses of this description, one of which is of a serious nature both as regards the amount involved and the period over which the defalcations took place. The fact that an officer was able to misappropriate a sum exceeding £1,000 over a period of nine months without being detected would seem to reflect adversely on the system of controlling and supervising the disbursement of moneys. The exercise of reasonable care by the responsible officer, or of vigilance in the examination of the monthly accounts, could scarcely have failed to bring the matter to light before the defalcations had reached serious proportions.

12. With regard to the minor losses to which the Comptroller and Auditor-General refers, it appears that the soldier clerks concerned were allowed considerable latitude in the handling of money and correspondence. The Committee finds it difficult to understand the circumstances in which these conditions are allowed to persist. It hopes that, in future, steps will be taken to ensure that officers placed in positions of trust will fully appreciate the obligations attaching to their appointments, and so lessen the danger of a recurrence of losses of the kind complained of.

13. The treatment accorded to a member of the Forces who admitted having falsified documents and forged signatures, and who was implicated in a series of thefts from a central store was the subject of discussion before this Committee. The Army Medical Authorities certified that the individual concerned was not fit to undergo trial by Courtmartial, and he was discharged from the Army, having received all the benefits to which he would have been entitled had he been discharged in the normal course with a clean record. The Committee is not satisfied that courtmartial procedure was properly waived or that this matter was satisfactorily disposed of without judicial inquiry.

14. The Comptroller and Auditor-General in his report deals with the question of securing effective control over expenditure incurred in connection with the activities of the Volunteer Force. He points out that on various occasions the attendance of volunteers fell short of the numbers for which provision was made with the result that unnecessary expense was incurred on transport and other services. He also refers to losses of clothing and equipment which are due to the failure of volunteers to surrender their complete kits when they resign from the Force, and to the irregular wear of articles of clothing in the custody of volunteers. The Committee appreciates that in view of the voluntary nature of the service rendered by members of this Force, the question of control is one of some complexity and that local officers must be relied on to a great extent. It realizes, however, that over such a wide field wasteful expenditure might, in the absence of strict vigilance, reach serious proportions. The Committee is informed that certain alterations in the Volunteer Force Scheme are under consideration, and it hopes that these alterations and the experience already gained by local officers will ensure economy in the administration of this service.

15. Certain lands taken over from the British Administration were charged with the liability for payment in perpetuity of £104 1s. 2d. a year in respect of the right to exercise troops thereon, and also for the payment of £120 a year in respect of the use of part of these lands for aviation purposes. The Committee is informed that the latter user is not the subject of a written agreement and that the Department is not in a position to exercise the full right of control over the aerodrome, which is used by civilian aviators without the payment of the usual fees. The Committee regards this position as far from satisfactory, but it understands that a decision regarding the further use of the lands for military purposes is expected in the near future, and it wishes to be informed of the outcome in due course.

Lands.

16. The attention of the Committee was directed to the fact that, in the case of advances made to certain tenant purchasers in connection with a reclamation scheme, not only had no repayments been made but there was some doubt regarding the validity of the undertakings to repay the advances. It appears that the matter has formed the subject of discussion between the Department of Finance and the Land Commission. The Committee views with some concern the possible loss to public funds involved and desires to be informed of the outcome of the discussions referred to.

Agriculture.

17. The attention of the Committee was drawn to expenditure amounting to £29,312 2s. 5d., charged to Subhead O. 10 of the Vote in respect of butter sold on the home market. This Subhead provided only for purchases for export. The Committee is concerned to find that funds voted for a particular purpose were diverted to meet other expenditure for which no provision was made in the Estimates and that steps were not taken to provide for the expenditure in a Supplementary Estimate.

The Committee in paragraph 26 of their last report, dated the 9th December, 1937, expressed the view that accounts relating to the commercial activities of Departments, required to be presented to Dáil Eireann, should be submitted to the Comptroller and Auditor-General for audit in sufficient time to enable them, if referred to the Committee of Public Accounts, to be dealt with on the examination of the Appropriation Accounts for the corresponding financial year. The Committee is concerned to note that delay again arose in the furnishing of accounts of this nature and desires to emphasise the necessity for furnishing such accounts as early as possible after the close of the accounting period to which they relate.

JAMES M. DILLON,

Chairman.

16th February, 1939.