Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 86: To ask the Minister for Finance if he sanctioned a legal agreement with a business organisation (details supplied) that involved writing off more than half of a sum of €626,000 owing to the State on one particular programme and if so, the reason for same; if he will provide details of all other publicly funded programmes initiated here or by the European Union from which the organisation benefited since the year 2000, of any other write offs or contested payment claims that attached to them and the nature and outcome of any and all aspects of legal recourse and or advice that have arisen in relation to them [38355/10]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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Government Departments are required to seek the sanction of the Department of Finance for write offs of monies in certain instances as outlined in the Public Financial Procedures. All write-offs above €10,000 should be noted in the relevant Appropriation Account and are matters for the relevant Accounting Officer. The then Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, complying with the requirements outlined in the Public Financial Procedures in relation to submitting their write off request to this Department, sought to write-off €319,802.61 out of a total of €626,540.61 due to them from Chambers Ireland in relation to the Dawn Equal programme. The then Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment informed this Department of its legal advice and that a repayment schedule for the outstanding amounts in relation to the Dawn Equal Programme was agreed by the then Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and Chambers Ireland.

Following consideration of these issues sanction was issued by the Department of Finance in September 2009 for the write-off subject to no further payments being made by the then Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment or its agencies to Chambers Ireland without the prior sanction of the Department of Finance.

In relation to publicly funded or European Union funded programmes generally these are matters, in the first instance, for the relevant Ministers.