Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I apologise in advance because I will have to leave to go to another meeting at 11.30 a.m. I welcome the auditors and their work, which is important. The auditors keep a proper, professional eye on the activities and functions of local government to make sure there is total transparency and accountability, books are kept properly and well and any issues that arise are brought to the attention of the individuals and councils concerned. Everybody benefits as a result.

I made a query to the Local Government Audit Service last year or perhaps it was the year before in respect of a former student of mine who claimed he had been defrauded. I am not naming names or even the council concerned; I want to be very clear on that point. There was a court case and a person was deemed to have committed a criminal act and suffered penalties as a result. The issue that arose was how the county council found itself in the position that it did. There is a question in regard to what due diligence was done on the contract to ensure the company which was awarded the contract was actually the same company that had secured it previously. Part of the issue was that the same notepaper and letterhead were used in both cases. The basic detail is that a person was defrauded of money and the criminal justice system dealt with the matter. How did the Local Government Audit Service deal with the case, however? As it took place in 2009, I acknowledge that it was not a recent audit. However, it was the outcome of a criminal case. I do not expect the witnesses to comment on any criminal issues or matters that could impinge on someone's rights were any such things to happen in the future. Having said that, how was that case dealt with?