Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The issues raised in the details supplied refer to the former National Chairman and the former Chief Executive of an organisation. The matter relates to a complaint made by that organisation to the Gardaí in March 1999. The Department was not a party to that complaint.

The Department was informed at the time that the organisation had decided to alert the Gardaí of suspected irregularities in relation to claims submitted to the Department for funding under Measure 5 of the Small Business Operational Programme. The organisation advised that invoices in respect of one company in the amount of £16,500 were the subject of correspondence with the Gardaí.

On 23 June 2000, the organisation wrote to the Department stating that a file was subsequently sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions who decided there were no grounds for action. At that stage, the organisation accepted the results of the investigation and considered the matter closed. This letter was disclosed by the Department on 26 July 2000 to the former Chief Executive under an FOI request.

At no point has the Department sought to assert or maintain that any individual was guilty of wrongdoing. From the outset, and during the intervening years, the Department has made all reasonable efforts to facilitate the former Chief Executive who has been the principal enquirer in these matters.

In 2004, the former Chief Executive referred his complaint to the Office of the Ombudsman. The Department cooperated fully with the Ombudsman's inquiry. The Report of the Ombudsman concluded that the complaint against the Department was not upheld by the Ombudsman and that the case was closed by that Office on 28 November 2007.

For the avoidance of doubt, I again affirm that the Department does not have any issue or concern to pursue with the former Chief Executive who has previously been advised to this effect in writing. The Department has over a period of some 20 years dealt with the individual in a variety of capacities. The contacts were always of the highest probity.