Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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159. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if his Department has ever investigated allegations of maladministration of European Union grants and funds; in which years such investigations took place; the authorities who carried them out; the conclusions of such investigations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2725/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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In 1999, my Department was advised by ISME, the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises of Ireland Association, that irregularities in the use of funds allocated from the European Social Fund (ESF) had been notified to the Garda Fraud Squad. A file was referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) who decided that there were no grounds for action. In accordance with rules relating to use of all European Funds, my Department was obliged to notify the European Commission, in a Quarterly Communication of Irregularities, required under Commission regulations 1681/94 and 1831/94, that the matter was under investigation. On completion of the Garda Fraud Squad investigation and the decision of the DPP, the European Commission was notified that enquiries had not found evidence to substantiate the allegations made and that, accordingly, no irregularity in relation to the project had arisen.

From my Department’s perspective, this was the end of the matter. My Department’s actions in relation to the issue were the subject of a complaint to the Office of the Ombudsman. The complaint was not upheld.