Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Thursday, 19 May 2022
Public Accounts Committee
2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 11 - Office of Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Vote 39 - Office of Government Procurement
Vote 43 - Office of Government Chief Information Officer
2020 Report on the Accounts of the Public Services of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Chapter 4 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
9:30 am
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source
It is a huge risk to standards in public office in Ireland when people can suggest they gift money and the State cannot confirm it. It is not an individual matter or a pay matter. It is a matter that impacts standards in public office. What will happen is that we will have a race to the bottom and only people with independent wealth will be able to engage in public service. It is a serious point. Politicians are free to do it because they have their own accountability structure but if public servants are engaged in it and there is no accountability structure, then there is a significant issue with standards in public office.
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