After a four-year transparency battle, the IDA has been told it must disclose documents on a land deal for a proposed Apple data centre.
In 2021, Right to Know sought copies of correspondence between the development agency and the tech giant on discussions about sites for data centres.
The request was later refined with the IDA identifying a 33-page valuation report, which they refused to disclose.
The case was appealed to the Commissioner for Environmental Information (CEI) but placed on hold pending the outcome of a separate High Court case.
It was later discovered that there was more than one document within the scope of the review.
The CEI rejected the IDA’s claims that the records were exempt under the AIE Regulations as either relating to confidential proceedings or commercially sensitive.
It said the land deal in question took place more than ten years ago and that any valuations carried out then were out of date.
The decision maker wrote: “It is not apparent to me how such harms might arise when the valuation and indeed the sale took place over a decade ago, and property/land values have changed substantially over that time.
“I consider any prospective buyer is likely to arrange for their own due diligence checks to be carried out.”
The taxpayer is going to have to foot the bill for interest and penalties on enormous underpayments of tax by some of the country’s most senior civil servants.
Internal records reveal how “serious and systemic” failures led to the miscalculation of salaries and payments for thousands of people including ministers, civil servants, and retired public service workers.
In some cases, there were massive underpayments of tax from individuals who were retiring with gold-plated pensions.
In such circumstances, the person involved would normally be hit with both interest and penalties for the unpaid tax.
However, internal records show the government plans to pick up the tab itself and take the money from the budget of the National Shared Services Office, which made the mistake.
An internal briefing for Minister Jack Chamber said: “As this is an administrative error, there would seem to be no basis for seeking interest and any potential penalties from the individuals affected.”
The scale of the miscalculations is laid bare in a series of internal documents that were released under FOI by the Department of Public Expenditure.
Around thirty top civil servants had underpaid tax on pension lump sums and retirement benefits, in amounts ranging from a few hundred euro to almost €280,000.
A further 1,300 retirement files have had to be examined, dating back as far as 2016, to see if further errors can be found.
There were separate errors involving pension deductions for Cabinet members, which were only noticed after a number of ministers noticed a big drop in their monthly pay cheque.
A briefing document said: “A small number of Ministers have queried [the] NSSO about what seemed significant reductions in ‘take-home’ pay.”
Every member of the current government had to have their pay recalculated this summer with amounts owed of between €2,000 and €30,000.
Some are also due refunds because of miscalculations, ranging from just a couple of hundred euro to figures in the low €20,000s.
An internal review found that the payroll system had been incorrectly managing voluntary salary reductions taken by some ministers.
They failed to impose superannuation charges because they treated that income as if it did not count for pension purposes, even though it did.
During that review, officials realised the problems ran even deeper potentially affecting thousands of former staff.
A spot-check was carried out by the Revenue Commissioners which found some retirees had exceeded a €2 million pension fund threshold but not been charged tax.
It said that only 10 of 26 cases had been handled correctly and that €2.39 million in unpaid tax needed to be refunded along with €469,000 in interest.
The bills are only likely to grow as the NSSO tries to untangle the fiasco and as additional cases are notified to Revenue.
The state is also bracing itself for a large bill from retired civil servants who previously worked part-time or on job-share arrangements.
Thousands of them could be owed arrears stretching back up to twenty years because their pensions were not calculated correctly.
Some of the cases will be even more complicated, as the person involved has since died, and their estate may be owed money.
The briefing said the failures were “serious, systemic, and operational” with a full external audit commissioned.
In the documents, officials warned that the state’s payroll system is likely to be put under strain as it tries to resolve the issues.
A briefing said: “This work… could well put pressure on the NSSO’s resources, on top of its other demanding objectives.”
Asked about the records, a Department of Public Expenditure spokeswoman said all current ministers were now on the appropriate pension scheme with corrected contributions.
She said that of the larger pension overpayments €1.1 million had been paid to Revenue along with €226,000 worth of penalties and interest.
The spokeswoman said considerable progress had been made in addressing issues around underpayments to potentially 13,000 retirees although it might be that only 20 percent are directly impacted.
She said: “Independent auditors, RSM Ireland, have commenced their Audit of the NSSO’s Pension and Payroll Processes. The audit is expected to take up to six months.”
The records were released to Right to Know following an internal review under FOI laws.
A new Irish embassy and diplomatic outpost in Tokyo was originally projected to cost €23.5 million but has already cost the taxpayer at least €35.2 million.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said their initial estimates were based on outdated construction costs and insisted the project had come in on time and under budget.
However, when Tokyo’s Ireland House was first proposed, a much lower cost was put forward, according to records that were released under FOI.
The site itself was purchased in the upmarket Shinjuku district of the Japanese capital for a sum of €7.74 million in 2017.
When legal fees, due diligence, and archaeological excavation costs were included, that rose to €8.54 million.
A briefing note said when the project was first mooted, it was hoped construction could be completed for a price “in the region of €15 million.”
However, the latest figures show the design and build of the landmark Ireland House has cost €26.7 million to date, with some invoices still outstanding.
The Department of Foreign Affairs defended the expenditure, saying the original estimate was based on figures that were no longer realistic by the time the project was given the green light.
A spokeswoman explained: “At the time of site purchase in 2017, an early indicative figure was suggested for construction costs that was based on building costs from 2015.”
She said a new €29.9 million budget was considered and approved by the department’s Programme Oversight Board in June 2021 based on prevailing market conditions.
The department said the project was given the go-ahead as a more “cost-effective option” than the continued use of rented premises.
Before the opening of Ireland House, the department rented a residence for the Irish Ambassador for an eye-watering €485,000 per year.
The overall rent bill in Tokyo for the Irish diplomatic mission and other staff was over €1 million annually.
The department said the agreed €29.9 million budget included construction costs, professional fees, furniture, and fittings.
The spokeswoman added that the final cost was likely to come in below that figure.
A report on the Legal Aid Board (LAB) found its IT systems were at “critical risk of failure,” and that poor performance issues were tolerated, while staff worked in unsatisfactory offices without the necessary technology.
The Baker Tilly report said the board was somehow managing to function “almost in spite of its design” with exhausted employees, low morale, and a sense of burnout.
It said that LAB’s computer systems were so antiquated that they now represented a “critical risk factor to organisational delivery, resilience and capacity.”
The report said that without investment, their IT system could result in a “high level of organisational failure.”
It also detailed how some staff bought software out of their own pockets to complete cases.
Employees were sometimes left to find “workarounds” to help clients in the face of obsolete technology, vacant posts, and poor facilities.
The Legal Aid Board, which provides civil legal aid, family mediation, and asylum-related legal services, employs more than 500 staff nationwide.
Legal Aid Board CEO Joan Crawford said the report was undertaken to see where the organisation could make improvement.
She said: “The review has found that we are consistently delivering despite significant challenges. This is due to the dedication and professionalism of our staff who always go that extra mile.
“Notwithstanding these challenges, the Legal Aid Board continues to deliver vital services and remains committed to the continuous improvement of our services, and to ensuring that access to justice is upheld for those who need it most.”
Ms Crawford said that as the organisation had grown significantly, the structures in place were no longer suitable to support that growth. “We now need to change and grow too,” she said.
Prisoners who failed or missed drug tests were allowed to keep special jail privileges including increased visits, better accommodation, and a higher chance of getting temporary release.
An audit of the Irish Prison Service’s ‘incentivised regime’ system found that in half of 201 cases involving failed or missed drug tests – the prisoner was not downgraded properly as required under policy.
In Wheatfield Prison in Dublin alone, 43 positive drug tests resulted in “no action taken.”
At some jails, discretion had been used where a prisoner had made a “once-off slippage” while in other cases inmates were moved from an enhanced to ‘standard’ regime instead of the lower ‘basic’ level.
The internal audit also found that in the four jails examined – Cork, Wheatfield, Castlerea in Roscommon, and the Dublin Dóchas female prison – there was no formal operational drug-testing programme.
It said the system for monitoring drug use was random, often dependent on suspicion, and undermined by ongoing staff shortages.
The audit explained: “Operational drug testing requires the presence of two staff members, a requirement often unmet due to existing staffing constraints at prison facilities.”
The audit found as well that some prisoners were being upgraded to an ‘incentivised regime’ without meeting requirements.
There were 134 cases where prisoners were given enhanced benefits without having served 56 days at standard level.
The November 2024 report said: “There was no explanation provided on the documents, nor was any authorisation recorded on the [prison system].”
The audit discovered flaws in the appeals system as well, saying around 40 percent of cases concerning incentivised regimes were not decided within the required five days.
Asked about the audit, a spokesman for the IPS said they were committed to managing sentences in a way that encouraged prisoners “to live law abiding and purposeful lives.”
He said: “The policy for the operation of incentivised regimes provides for a differentiation of privileges between prisoners who demonstrate positive behaviour in prison while engaging with services and those who do not.
“The objective is to provide tangible incentives to participate in structured activities and to reinforce incentives for positive behaviour, leading to a safer and more secure environment for prisoners, staff and visitors alike.”
The spokesman said the policy was reviewed and updated earlier this year and that in June 2024, they had “re-energised a full programme of random and intelligence-led operational drug testing for prisoners.”
Protected habitats have been burned, vandalised, and torn up across Ireland’s national parks over the past eighteen months.
National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) records detail dozens of incidents of arson, scrambler damage, theft, and repeated acts of vandalism at one location in County Galway.
Ten of the thirty-four cases of damage were logged at Coole Park near Gort, County Galway.
This included three separate occasions when a person – or persons – deliberately blocked toilets with loo roll, including the disabled facility.
In other cases at Coole Park, floor tiles were torn up, cobbles were removed and strewn around, and locks were cut off gates.
There were also multiple further incidents of fires, removal of signs, and damaged padlocks at the beleaguered site.
A note said: “Further damage and theft from outside toilet block including repeated removal of disinfectant dispensers; either being taken or thrown into nearby vegetation.
“[Also], toilets being blocked with toilet roll and hand towels on repeated occasions; soap dispensers emptied, and contents sprayed all over sink areas and floors.”
The two most serious incidents both took place in County Mayo and were the result of fire.
At Wild Nephin National Park, more than forty hectares of conifer forest and peatland were destroyed in a suspected arson attack in April of this year.
A few days earlier, a separate wildfire destroyed the Claggan boardwalk and thirty hectares of peatland in the same protected habitat.
The Octagon at the Glen of the Downs Park in County Wicklow was another hotspot for antisocial activity, according to the NPWS files.
Met Éireann said they needed to be sure that none of this year’s storms shared a name with any of the candidates for the forthcoming Presidential election.
In discussions over the list for 2025 and 2026, the Irish meteorological service said they were not yet sure who was running for the Presidency, but wanted to alert colleagues in the U.K. and the Netherlands it was happening.
An email to them said: “We certainly couldn’t have a live storm with the name of a candidate during the election.”
U.K. forecasters were also worried about using the Irish name ‘Fíadh’ for a storm this season because they thought it sounded a little bit too much like ‘fear’.
However, in discussions, Met Éireann reassured them of its far less sinister pronunciation by sending an audio recording of how it actually sounds when spoken.
An email said the Irish meteorological service wanted to keep it in contention for this year’s list.
Met Éireann said it had some “nice stories behind it” and was the only Irish-language name on this year’s list.
Fíadh had been put forward as part of a Met Éireann initiative to get the public to help choose storm names for this year.
An internal list said: “Fíadh is an Irish girl’s name meaning wild or untamed. The name’s connection to nature and the wild symbolises the untamed aspects of the individual, their tenacity, and their willingness to push boundaries.
“This sounds both like my … daughter Fíadh and most storms.”
However, staff in Met Éireann flagged it early as a potential issue for colleagues in the UK and Netherlands saying it might prove tricky.
TV forecaster Gerry Murphy wrote to colleagues saying: “I think the names that are being suggested are good.
“The only one I would be a bit concerned with is Fíadh. It is a lovely name, but it might be one of those Irish names that people in Britain might pronounce incorrectly.”
In the end, Fíadh did not make the twenty-one strong list, and was replaced instead with Fionnuala, which was on an alternate list from Met Éireann.
An email from the U.K. Met Office said: “After considering the recordings, would you mind if we make the swap from Fíadh to Fionnuala for the final list?”
Seven of the twenty-one names were chosen by Ireland following a social media campaign from Met Éireann to submit names for the 2025 and 2026 season.
More than €1.1 million in taxpayer funds was paid last year to ministers, TDs, and Senators for social media providers, communications, and secretarial support.
The payments were made as part of the little-known special secretarial allowance which allows part-time hiring and the purchase of public relations services.
In 2024, Taoiseach Micheál Martin paid €5,965 to a firm called Upload Media, a creative media agency based in Dublin.
On their website, they offer a range of services including video production, photography, graphic design, web design, and content management.
Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers paid €5,000 to Communique International, a strategic communications provider.
The former minister Simon Coveney spent just over €40,500 with the Cork-based firm Cameo Communications.
Current Enterprise Minister Peter Burke paid Social Media Elite just over €5,500 while ex-Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue submitted a bill of €4,920 from Fabrik Creative Media.
Minister Norma Foley paid around €4,100 to Fogarty Films as well as €1,000 to Yewtree Infotainment.
Details of a further payment of €1,000 were redacted from the records on the basis it was personal information.
The Oireachtas has adopted a policy of only providing details of spending where companies are involved and not for individuals or sole traders.
That meant no further detail was provided on payments totalling €42,700 on behalf of the Fianna Fáil TD – and Minister of State – Niall Collins.
Similarly, €14,700 in payments by Minister Hildegarde Naughton were anonymised as were €26,500 in payments under the scheme by Culture Minister Patrick O’Donovan.
Details of nearly €11,700 spending by former Minister Anne Rabbitte were redacted as well along with €7,300 in bills from Minister Thomas Byrne.
The scheme also allows TDs and Senators to hire a temporary vouched employee to work in their offices.
Ireland could be leaving itself in a “decisively disadvantageous” position with high energy prices and risks to supply if it does not consider nuclear power.
An internal briefing from EirGrid said that this country currently has among the highest electricity prices in the world for households and businesses.
It said sky-high power bills were creating a huge financial burden for the public and threatened the viability of Irish businesses.
The note said that there was currently a prohibition on developing nuclear energy in Ireland and that government policy envisioned a future in which the country was powered by wind, solar, and “various forms of storage.”
However, it said this was not without risks in what is known as the “energy trilemma” of sustainability, affordability, and reliability.
New small modular nuclear reactors may in the future reduce costs and could potentially present an answer to the ‘trilemma’.
The briefing explained: “In such a world, Ireland may find itself in a decisively disadvantageous position when compared to international competitors.
“This may reduce Ireland’s attractiveness as a destination for foreign direct investment, particularly from energy-intensive sectors such as manufacturing and ICT.”
The document accompanied a presentation delivered by experts to a board subcommittee of EirGrid in March of this year.
Leinster House approved spending of €325,000-per-year for three new special adviser posts for senior officeholders in parliament.
The decision was made to allow the Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy, Leas Ceann Comhairle John McGuinness, and Seanad Cathaoirleach Mark Daly each hire a person at an average annual cost of around €108,000 per post.
Special adviser positions for officeholders at Leinster House had been ended over a decade ago following the resignation of John O’Donoghue amid controversy over his travel costs.
However, a proposal was brought before the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission in June seeking the establishment of three new posts and other enhanced staffing for the parliamentary speakers.
A note on the proposal said: “The annual cost of the three special adviser posts (based on mid-point of scale and inclusive of Employers PRSI) is approximately €325,000.”
It is understood that two of the positions are in the process of being filled but that Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy has yet to appoint anybody.
Two business cases were submitted by TD John McGuinness and Senator Mark Daly explaining why they needed a special adviser working with them.