More from our FAS file. This is the audit report that was carried out in relation to Ashfield Computer Training (ACT). The company received € 30,264.00 via the FAS CDP scheme in 2006, €464,044.00 in 2007 and €443,361.57 in 2008, a total of €937,669.57. We don’t yet have figures for 2009. FAS director general Paul O’Toole has said that money could not be recovered from Ashfield Computer Training, because the company was liquidated earlier this year.
Critically, the report states, among other things:
no explanation was provided by ACT as to why the date created for the NEWSLETTER document in the Word Processing 2 module was 28 August 2007; two months after the course finished.
In the case of the NEWSLETTER document produced in the Word assessment there were 6 candidates...
Some time ago I sought all briefing papers used by HSE staff for appearances before Oireachtas committees between September 1, 2009 and June 14, 2010, inclusive.
Here are seven sets of them:
8.09.09 JCHC – HSE Opening Statement (CMO’s)
09.03.2010 JCHC
7th Oct JOC 2009
17.12.2009 PAC – HSE Opening Statement
10.06.2010 PAC – HSE Opening Statement
20.04.10 JCHC – Mental Health
HSE PAC November 5 2009...
On the subject of:
THE TÁNAISTE Mary Coughlan yesterday sought to play down a controversy with the European Commission that has brought a halt to the claiming of tens of millions of euro in European Social Fund payments.
Her department confirmed that a claim for €57 million spent by Fás on training and which was to be repaid by Europe, was withdrawn because of issues raised by European audits.
A prominent trade unionist has criticised a call for FAS to be shut down:
The Labour Party’s spokesman on education, the former minister for labour Ruairí Quinn, has called for Fás to be “shut down” as a result of this latest blow to its credibility. He said some of its budget should be transferred to educational institutions such as institutes of technology.
This sparked an angry...
Attendance Records 01-03-2010 to 12-03-2010 Senators...
These are costs related to Irish Parliamentary Association (IPA) travel for 2009. Released by the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission.
Spreadsheet
These are costs related to Council of Europe, OECD, PACE, Western European Union, EuroMed and EMPA. The total is €108,671.80. The data includes trips by Frank Fahey, Ivor Callely, Pat Breen, Joe O’Reilly, Terry Leyden and Cecilia Keaveney.
Spreadsheet...
As part of an ongoing process. The appointments diary of then HSE chief executive Brendan Drumm for 2008 and 2009.
Drumm Diary...
This is a breakdown of British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly costs for 2009. It totals at €20,656.41.
Spreadsheet...
As part of an ongoing process. The appointments diary of the Minister for Finance for 2007.
Finance 2007
Previously:
Finance diary May 2008 to March 2009
William Beusang diary May 2008 to May 2009
Ann Nolan diary May 2008 to May 2009
Derek Moran
Kevin Cardiff diary May 2008 to May 2009...
As part of an ongoing process. The appointments diary of then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern for the year 2001.
Taoiseach diary 2001
Previously:
Taoiseach diary April 1998 to March 1999
Taoiseach diary April to December 1999
Taoiseach diary 2000
Taoiseach diary 2005
Taoiseach diary 2006
Taoiseach diary May 2008 to May 2009...
As part of an ongoing process. The appointments diary of then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern for the year 2000.
Taoiseach diary 2000
Previously:
Taoiseach diary April 1998 to March 1999
Taoiseach diary April to December 1999
Taoiseach diary 2005
Taoiseach diary 2006
Taoiseach diary May 2008 to May 2009...
Luke Byrne of the Mail on Sunday, who penned the original story related to the mobile phone expense claims of Senator Ivor Callely on Sunday, has been kind enough to pass on the original documents received from his FOI request. I have run an OCR process on the documents, and combined them into one PDF.
A declaration on the claims form states:
I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THE EXPENSES CLAIMED HAVE BEEN ACTUALLY AND NECESSARILY INCURRED BY ME IN RELATION TO MY MEMBERSHIP OF DAIL EIREANN AND THE PARTICULARS FURNISHED HEREIN ARE IN ALL RESPECTS TRUE.
This is signed and dated by Mr Callely on each claim form.
The company on the headed paper, which gives its company number at the bottom of the document (150878), put out a notice in February 1994 that a liquidator was being appointed. You can read...
As part of an ongoing process of seeking what people ask for under FOI, here are the FOI requests logs for HSE (National) from January 1, 2007 to May 31, 2010, inclusive. Each year is in a different sheet, which you can change at the bottom.
Google Spreadsheet...
Readers might recall that back in November, I published an FOI released to Deputy Joan Burton. She appealed a decision by the Department of Finance to refuse the release of certain documents to the Information Commissioner, and the Commissioner appears to have settled the matter with the Department – resulting in the release of more documents. Joan was kind enough to pass a copy onto me. The Irish Independent reported on the documents last week.
The documents contain the minutes of a meeting between the Department of Finance and Anglo representatives in December 2008. Sean FitzPatrick and Kevin Cardiff were present. At the meeting, Anglo proposed that Standard Life and the Irish Government would help underwrite a rights issue, the draft plan is included in the documents. It also...
While an appeal is currently pending with the Information Commissioner in relation a request seeking an export of the entire financial management system in use at the Houses of the Oireachtas, the Oireachtas were kind enough to release a portion of the information sought. These databases contain the expense claims of staff at the House of the Oireachtas under three headings, Committee Travel, Interparliamentary Travel and Other staff Travel.
These spreadsheets are published “as is”, with one exception. I have temporarily removed the column for date of the claim, because Google Spreadsheets seems to be having issues converting some of the cell dates, and is giving incorrect dates. I will fix this, and publish later.
Oireachtas Interparliamentary Travel staff expenses...
We’ve a story in today’s Sunday Times about an interesting building that Fás has been renting from an interesting man. It’s behind a paywall, so no link, unfortunately. It took several months to compile through a series of FOI requests which were funded by donations from you lot, the people who do be readin’ this here blog.
The Sunday Times piece opens…
FAS, the state training agency, is renting a warehouse from the former tax partner of a consultancy firm which has been “consistently successful” in tendering for work from the agency.
Unit 9 at Tolka Valley business park in Finglas, north Dublin, has been rented since 2000 from Terry Oliver, formerly of OSK, an accounting and business consultancy. Internal audits have concluded that Greg...
The Minister of State with special responsibility for European Affairs at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Dick Roche, claimed over €50,000 in “mileage costs” from his Department over two years – the highest total mileage claim of anyone at the Department over that period.
According to a database released under the Freedom of Information Act, Mr Roche ranks first for mileage claims for the entire department for both 2008 and 2009. In 2008 he claimed €28,466.97 in mileage costs, while in 2009 Mr Roche claimed €21,563.56 under the same heading – a total of €50,030.53.
In 2009 a total of €157,466.02 was claimed by Department of Foreign Affairs staff under the mileage cost heading, with Mr Roche’s claims accounting for over 14% of the cost of all...
Some time ago I sought from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA):
1) A datadump (or copy) of the entire Sun database insofar as such data relates to claimed expenses.
The Department has released the data in question. Unfortunately it was released in PDF format (3,000+ pages), so it will take a little extra time to import into spreadsheets. The release contains three tranches, expenses of DFA staff (2005 to 2010), Irish Aid expense claims (2005 to 2010), and Honorary Consul expense claims. I will be publishing this data over the coming weeks.
For now here are the Honorary Consul claims, which are relatively minor. I again wish to emphasise that publishing this data is not an attempt to embarrass any one person, nor does it form the basis of any claim that somehow there was something...
As part of an ongoing process. The 2005 appointments diary of the then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.
Taoiseach diary 2005...
I received a bunch of emails today from the Department of Finance in relation to communications with Anglo Irish Bank between September 2008 and February 2009. I will scan them all shortly and upload. One in particular though caught my eye. It’s an email exchange between Marie Mulvihill at the DoF and John Paul Coleman at Anglo Irish Bank. It’s dated February 2, 2009, just two weeks after nationalisation, subject line: “Query over Tier 2 capital”.
John Paul
We have received a query regarding the tier 2 capital securities on Anglo Irish Bank’s balance sheet. I’ve had
a quick look at the preliminary results as at 30th September 2008 but can’t locate a break down.
I would be grateful if you could outline what makes up the Tier 2 capital and whether...
[Crossposted to thestory.ie]
Readers may recall a blog post I wrote back in December detailing my dealings with the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism (DAST). After gleaning information from the footers of Ken Foxe’s FOIs concerning John O’Donoghue, I established that the Department was using Oracle iExpense software to store expenses information.
I wrote an FOI request in October asking for a ‘datadump’, of the entire database since inception (in other words, a copy of the database). The Department refused both the original request and the appeal for internal review (conducted by a more senior official in the Department).
In January I appealed the decision to the Office of the Information Commissioner. The request, internal review and appeal have cost a...
[cross posted to thestory.ie]
For the record and as part of an ongoing FOI request, here are all expenses and salaries of all TDs and Senators, 2005 – 2008. I received them today via email from the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission. We hope to digitise this data shortly. I also received the following note:
In relation to the break down of allowances I wish to clarify the following:
1. Telephone Allowance is paid as an annual allowance on a quarterly basis to all Members. The allocation of this allowance to specific telephone bills is a matter for each individual Member, consequently the allowance is not quantified into land line calls and mobile phone calls. Any expenses incurred by members over and above this allowance have to be met by the individual Member.
2....
It took months of work by Ken Foxe at the Sunday Tribune. His efforts deserve every applause.
For my own part, I started posting Ken’s FOI work online on August 18. I hope this helped in some way to get Ken’s work more exposure, and force this resignation.
Mr O’Donoghue is a national disgrace.
But the FOI work continues....
Last week I blogged a response I had received from the Department of Finance concerning Government consultations over the establishment of NAMA. The response was prompted by an FOI request, seeking the titles, dates and authors of consultation reports for the Government (seeking the documents themselves would have been refused outright).
What it brought to light, in a small way, was how little in-house expertise the Government has. Reports were written for the Government by Merrill Lynch, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Arthur Cox, Peter Bacon, Rothschild, and HSBC. If you are wondering who drafted the NAMA legislation, the answer lies somewhere between all of these companies and people, the Department of Finance and the Minister. It would also be fair to say that the Irish banks must have had...
[cross posted to thestory.ie]
In 2006 the Government went on a trade mission to India. Mary Hanafin as Minister for Education went along. I put in the following FOI request:
1) The Minister’s schedule and appointments between January 1, 2006 and March 1, 2006.
2) A breakdown of flight costs, accommodation costs, hospitality costs, and any other costs borne by the Department for a trip taken by the Minister to India in January 2006, and a breakdown of any expenses claimed.
I will upload the schedule later. The total trip cost €26,421.14. Flights cost €20,912.84. Ms Hanafin’s flight alone cost €8,990.28.
For now, here is the spreadsheet of costs (go to the bottom of the sheet and click “costs India trip” :
Hanafin India 2006
I do not believe removing the...
Some time ago I sought the following information from the Department of Finance:
1) The titles, dates and authors of all cost-benefit analyses, impact reports or preparatory reports that have been carried out by the Department in relation to NAMA
2) The titles, dates and authors of all cost-benefit analyses, impact reports or preparatory reports that have been carried out by people or companies working on behalf of, or at the request, of the Department, in relation to NAMA
Outside of the FOI (though I still intend pursuing this information through FOI, whether or not it is rejected) I received the following information:
Merrill Lynch (engaged by NTMA)
A number of reports setting out options for the Irish banking sector, including the treatment of impaired assets
PwC (engaged...
[cross posted to thestory.ie]
The Daily Mail and Sunday Times have commented already on Lenihan’s diary as published here last week. The Daily Mail concentrated on the meeting with Stephen Schwarzman of Blackstone on November 12, 2008. The Sunday Times was more concerned with all the constituency work Mr Lenihan was doing when he perhaps should have been doing more important work.
For my own part I’ve been parsing the document to see what dates coincide. I’ve also drafted and sent two follow up FOIs on the basis of information gleaned from Mr Lenihan’s diary. There will likely be follow ups to those too.
However, the diary itself raises a number of question that I will list here.
1) Why was a meeting with Sean FitzPatrick on September 18 not listed in the......
[cross posted to thestory.ie)
Last month I sent the following Freedom of Information request:
FOI Unit
Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment,
Kildare Street,
Dublin 2,
August 13, 2009
Request for access to records under the Freedom of Information Acts 1997 and 2003
Dear Sir/Madam,
In accordance with Section 7 of the above mentioned act, I wish to request access to the following records which I believe to be held by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (”the Department”):
1) The portfolio prepared by the Department in advance of Mary Coughlan (”the Minister”) becoming Enterprise Minister on May 7, 2008, in order to brief her on her new role.
2) All briefing notes prepared for the Minister for an interview on RTE Radio with Marian Finucane, in...
[cross posted to thestory.ie]
As part of my FOI request seeking the diary of Finance Minister Brian Lenihan, I also sought briefing documents used by himself and the Department’s Secretary General David Doyle. My request asked for:
1. The diary of the Minister for Finance (dates given)
2. Briefing notes prepared for the Minister for Finance for an appearance before the Joint Committee on Finance and the Public Service, and
3. Briefing notes prepared for the Secretary General of the Department of Finance for his appearance before the PAC.
I have uploaded the full extent of my request, and their response.
Item two was refused outright.
Item three. Is largely granted but a number of records or parts of records have been refused. Furthermore, records relating to the President do...
[cross posted to thestory.ie]
I have blogged previously about my request for information concerning the Morris Tribunal website, and its disappearance earlier this year. I noticed that since my FOI was submitted, the Morris Tribunal website had reappeared. It seems this was as a result of my request.
To recap: I submitted the following request
Request for access to records under the Freedom of Information Acts 1997 and 2003
Dear Sir/Madam,
In accordance with Section 7 of the above mentioned Acts, I wish to request access to the following records which I believe to be held by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform (”the Department”):
1) The contract between the Department and Fanore Software, relating to the development of the website for the Morris...
[cross posted from thestory.ie]
No, we don’t have the expenses, yet anyway. But we have started the process. In August I sent the following FOI request to the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (the crowd who manage the Dail and Seanad):
August 17, 2009
Request for access to records under the Freedom of Information Acts 1997 and 2003
Dear Sir/Madam,
In accordance with Section 7 of the above mentioned Acts, I wish to request access to the following records which I believe to be held by the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (”the Commission”):
1) A breakdown of all expenses claimed by TDs broken down by TD and by the following calendar years: 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997
2) A breakdown of all expenses claimed by Senators broken...