Serious irregularities were exposed in the company accounts of Dublin's Beaumont Hospital, the Dáil's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) heard today.
A report by Comptroller & Auditor General John Purcell found bogus companies artificially inflated tender prices for construction projects and contractors were paid for work not carried out.
Mr Purcell also found evidence of retendering for work already completed in his trawl of Beaumont's board accounts for 2000, 2001 and 2002.
He told the committee: "All this strongly suggested irregularities in the procurement process . . . in the technical services department."
The manager of that department - who falsified his CV when applying for his job - has since resigned and a Garda investigation is continuing, the committee heard.
PAC members also heard that all construction work carried out at the hospital between 1998 and 2001 - totalling €3.3 million - was carried out by only one contractor.
Hospital management called in quantity surveyors in 2001 who identified eight construction projects that should have reasonably cost €368,000 but the hospital was charged double that figure.
The hospital then withheld €200,000 invoiced by a contractor and the matter was reported to the Garda.
Beaumont chief executive Liam Duffy said: "We've learned lessons the hard way." He reassured members of the committee that management procedures, internal audit controls and information systems have since been strengthened at the hospital, which is one of the capital's busiest.
In reply to PAC chairman Mr Michael Noonan, Mr Duffy said a number of people had left the hospital "before any action was taken". Committee member Mr Sean Ardagh agreed that there "was an obvious failure of procedures".