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Templemore Gardai may have redirected EU funds to bank account

Gardai at the Templemore Garda College may have redirected funds from the European Union int...
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Newstalk

10.50 2 Jun 2017


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Templemore Gardai may have red...

Templemore Gardai may have redirected EU funds to bank account

Newstalk
Newstalk

10.50 2 Jun 2017


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Gardai at the Templemore Garda College may have redirected funds from the European Union into their own bank account, according to several sources. 

Sources claim that 5% of the money which was given by the EU agency CEPOL, was placed in an account in Cabra, Dublin and used for entertainment for gardaí.

The money which was given by CEPOL, a European Union agency for law enforcement, was designated for training courses.

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The head of the Garda internal audit unit, Niall Kelly said that he is conducting an investigation into the allocation of funds as part of an audit of EU-funded projects-programmes going back to 1998.

According to The Irish Times, a copy of an internal audit completed in 2008, showed funds were being transferred from the CEPOL bank account to the laundry account in Templemore Garda college.

The money was being used to pay for the accommodation costs of the delegates involved in the courses.

The audit recommends that the bank account for CEPOL is reconciled and that all surplus funds are credited back to the Department of Justice.

Public Accounts Committee 

The issue was first raised by Fine Gael TD Josepha Madigan at a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee on Thursday.

She told the committee that it was her understanding that the funds were "being spent on non-core Garda issues, if one likes, and the moneys are not going where they should be going”.

She urged Naill Kelly to make his audit available to the committee as soon as possible.

Mr Kelly’s report in 2017 demonstrated the scale of the problem confirming that the college was renting out land it did not own, operating more than 50 bank accounts and using State funds to fit out privately owned businesses.

The Public Accounts Committee will receive further documentation today in connection with its tax compliance and other correspondence requested by members. 


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