AN INTERNAL HSE audit has uncovered serious irregularities in a partnership body for the health service which received more than €41 million in State funding over the last decade or so.
Among the concerns set out in the audit of the Health Service National Partnership Forum (HSNPF) are how money was spent, particularly relating to the signing of cheques; governance within the organisation; and the arrangements for a number of foreign trips undertaken by public officials and trade union leaders.
The HSNPF consists of 24 members, divided evenly between management representatives from the Department of Health, the HSE, voluntary agencies receiving State funding and trade union officials. Each side nominates a joint chair.
The aim of the body is to champion partnership between health service management and trade unions. Since 1999 the HSNPF has spent nearly €9.5 million on grants to various partnership committees and more than €6 million on national and local projects. It has a staff of 26 and an annual budget of about €5 million.
However, the HSE audit, which was presented to the Dáil Public Accounts Committee last night, says there was a lack of clarity regarding the legal status of the HSNPF.
Its trustees were concerned about the joint chairs of the body undertaking an executive role following the retirement of its director “and the implications this inappropriate governance structure had for the trustees as authorised cheque signatories”.
The audit finds in one case a HSNPF official signed the name of a union joint chair on five payment orders relating to one scheme.
The payee was an account known as the Siptu Health and Local Authority Levy Fund – an account Siptu has denied knowing anything about but which over recent years received about €4 million in State funds.
The audit expresses concern about how funding of €1.355 million allocated to the Action Plan for People Management (APPM) – a scheme to improve human resources – was handled.
Over €1 million from this fund went to trade unions. However, the audit says guidelines drawn up by the HSNPF to manage this fund were not adhered to. “Instead of the HSNPF receiving and validating claims from trade unions for grants, it paid the funding over in lump-sum form to Siptu for it to validate and disburse to other trade unions.”
It says that the HSNPF could not adequately explain why lump-sum payments were made to Siptu. The audit says Siptu received €924,963 from the APPM fund and that all of this money was paid into the Siptu National Health and Local Authority Levy fund.
The audit says four unions said they had received, but not yet spent, funds from this scheme and that they would repay the money to the HSE.
To date over €250,000 has been paid back.
The audit highlights that about €12,000 per year was expended on the HSNPF credit card, issued to its director.
“The credit card statements were self-certified and were not authorised by either a joint chair or trustee.”
The audit says that 21 foreign trips were undertaken by members of the HSNPF and its staff at a cost of €146,480.
INTERNAL AUDIT MAIN POINTS:
* HSNPF breached procedures and controls for dealing with disbursement of €1 million in funding for one scheme
* Lump sums were given to Siptu to disburse to other trade unions
* About €12,000 per year was spent on the HSNPF credit card with statements self-certified and not authorised by either a joint chair or trustee
* There was no evidence the joint chairs or trustees satisfied themselves that the expenditure was appropriate or germane to the activities of the HSNPF
* 21 foreign trips were undertaken There was a general absence of procurement and tendering documentation relating to the engagement of consultants held on file