Department called on to investigate council's finances

THE DEPARTMENT of the Environment has been called on to investigate financial affairs in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council following criticisms raised by the local government auditor.

In a report released to councillors in advance of last night’s council meeting, Anthony Doheny identified a number of concerns in the council’s 2007 accounts including its handling of a joint venture scheme, Cherrywood Science and Technology Park.

In 1997, the council entered the joint venture agreement with two firms in the Dunloe Ewart Group to develop the Cherrywood site. The agreement was due to expire at the end of 2008, but was extended until June 30th. Former county manager Derek Brady was appointed earlier this year to advise the council on its involvement in the scheme.

Mr Doheny said the council’s one-third share of income and expenditure in the project should be reflected in its accounts, but the council had failed to do that accurately.

He said €18 million was shown as expenditure in the accounts for the Cherrywood project for 2007, but the figures used were out of sync with actual expenditure, the records of which were not consistent.

The accounts were “patently not the accounts for the exact year of 2007”, he said. And some procedures were “at variance with standard accounting principles”.

He also said he had requested in previous audits that gross figures for income and expenditure be included in the accounts, but this had not been done.

The auditor also raised concerns about the low levels of collection of the waste and commercial water charges in the council and other accounting procedures.

Green Party councillor Gene Feighery called on the Department of the Environment to investigate.

“The fundamental nature of the auditor’s criticisms is such that I personally am very unsure whether his conclusion, that the accounts are fair, is a sound conclusion,” she said.

Councillor Tom Kivlehan said Cherrywood was one of the largest investments in the county and councillors still had not seen a proper set of accounts for it.

County manager Owen Keegan said the council was looking at all aspects of the Cherrywood venture and would return to council with updated accounts and a report shortly.

He also said Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown was one of the better-run local authorities in terms of its financial accounts and considering the major constraints including on recruitment, they did “a reasonably good job”.