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Dáil committee looking to meet with Dublin Port officials over credit card spending

Dublin Port has been asked to explain hundreds of thousands of euro worth of spending on company ...
Stephen McNeice
Stephen McNeice

14.20 17 Jun 2019


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Dáil committee looking to meet...

Dáil committee looking to meet with Dublin Port officials over credit card spending

Stephen McNeice
Stephen McNeice

14.20 17 Jun 2019


Share this article


Dublin Port has been asked to explain hundreds of thousands of euro worth of spending on company credit cards.

It comes after the Sunday Independent revealed details of spending at the semi-State company which operates the port.

Overall expenditure included a reported €205,000 being spent on a song for the launch of a ship - although Dublin Port said in a statement that that spending represented a 'major event' to mark the christening of a new ship.

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The paper also reported that four executives at the port company spent almost €270,000 between them last year on their company credit cards - with that spending ranging from staff entertainment to iTunes subscriptions.

The Department of Transport has been in contact with Dublin Port.

Speaking on Monday, the chair of the Oireachtas Transport Committee Fergus O'Dowd said he wants to meet port officials.

Deputy O'Down suggested: "I think the main thing is to have accountability - that's what the Oireachtas committee is for.

"Clearly the question of their expenditure and credit cards is of huge public importance.

"We're also trying to ensure that we visit them in their port, as well as having them coming to visit us."

Internal investigation launched

In a statement on Monday, Dublin Port Company defended the spending - stressing that no allegation of wrongdoing has been made in any report.

It said an immediate investigation has been launched into the leak of data "to establish how it occurred and by whom it was carried out".

On the subject of the payment for the ship christening, the company explained: "Payment to South Wind Blows included not only the commissioning of new music, but the staging and rigging for the event, full production, AV and payment to the participating artists and musicians including Lisa Hannigan, Damien Dempsey, John Sheahan and Colm MacCon Iomaire."

Meanwhile, the All-Ireland Cruise Ship Action Group called for a 'full forensic audit' to take place at Dublin Port.

Spokesperson Lorcan O'Connor suggested there needs to be an "urgent investigation" into spending in previous years.

He also called on both the Oireachtas Transport Committee and the Public Accounts Committee to call in Dublin Port CEO Eamonn O’Reilly and "immediately" look into spending at the port.

Reporting by Sean O'Regan and Stephen McNeice
Main image: Photo taken on March 29, 2019 shows an aerial view of Dublin Port, the busiest sea port in Ireland. Picture by: Liu Xiaoming/Xinhua News Agency/PA Images

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