Author: Ken Foxe

A HSE risk assessment warned of a high risk of measles spreading in asylum seeker accommodation and direct provision centres as uptake for the vaccine across Ireland was described as “sub-optimal”.

A presentation from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) said healthcare services were likely to come under significant pressure from the highly transmissible disease, which was very likely to cause outbreaks in non-immune populations.

The risk assessment said the lowest rates of vaccination were in Counties Louth and Meath where immunisation rates were below 80 per cent while uptake of below 85 per cent was reported in Counties Sligo, Leitrim, and Donegal.

It said no local health office in the country had met the target of 95 per cent uptake of the MMR vaccine, which protects against measles, mumps, and rubella.

The slideshow said that a recent study had estimated that just over one in ten people aged eighteen to thirty-four were “non-immune” to measles.

This rose to a figure of 17.9 per cent for males that were aged either eighteen or nineteen, indicating a “significant non-immune population” among adults.

The HSE said there was an “increasing likelihood” of measles taking hold in Ireland, particularly with the extent of travel between here and the United Kingdom.

Enterprise Ireland told government it was missing out on highly qualified staff because it was taking so long to get official sign-off to hire them.

A memo to the Department of Enterprise said they were also facing difficulties in trying to move employees around to respond to specific challenges like Brexit or to support the Global Ireland project.

It said a process that required every single hire to be approved by the department was taking too long even though the contracts involved were usually standard templates.

The memo from last autumn said the system was leading to “significant delays” and creating a “significant administrative burden” that added no value for the taxpayer.

“This is leading to loss of identified candidates in a tight talent market and poses a risk in terms of constraining our ability to deliver a full service to clients and meet our strategic goals,” said the briefing document.

It said the inability to be flexible in transferring staff between offices was also compromised even though it involved no change to Enterprise Ireland’s headcount.

Enterprise Ireland said that process was lengthy too and affected their ability to “respond to business and market needs”.

The document added: “[Department of Enterprise] current requirement to review and approve individual local overseas contracts when the contracts are standard templates, which have been legally reviewed and appropriate due diligence has been completed by Enterprise Ireland, adds a significant time to hire in a tight talent market, leading to multiple instances of our losing candidates.”

Almost €750 million was paid last year to Revenue in unpublished tax settlements with more than €200 million of that linked to the finance and insurance industries.

The Revenue Commissioners said the twenty largest settlements – specific details of which are not made public – accounted for €383 million in tax payments, or an average of around €19.2 million each.

Altogether, there were 57,873 cases settled by Revenue in 2023 where companies or individuals reached agreement over underpaid tax without their identities or names being listed in defaulter lists.

Figures released under FOI show that of the €749 million in unpublished settlements made last year, most cases related to companies with payments totalling €612 million.

There were a further 18,804 cases involving individual taxpayers, which accounted for €121 million of the tax paid as part of agreements on arrears.

Another €6.1 million was paid by 1,215 different partnerships while 213 “trusts estates” paid up just over €5 million, according to the figures.

There were also 828 unincorporated bodies that made settlements totalling €4.1 million as well as a small number of other miscellaneous cases.

The Revenue Commissioners said they would not provide any further detail on the twenty largest settlements apart from the €383 million total that was paid.

They said any further breakdown of the figures could serve to identify the companies or individuals who were involved in the tax agreements.

A review of a controversial golden visa scheme found that 90 per cent of applicants were from China with “no identifiable link” to Ireland and were being signed up through agents who specialised in finding people for the immigration scheme.

Secret memos from the Department of Justice said that the Immigrant Investor Programme (IIP) had an “elevated risk profile”, that such schemes carried the risk of being used by individuals engaged in money laundering and tax evasion, and that it was very challenging to do “due diligence” on applicants.

Senior officials warned that granting a visa to a person as part of the IIP scheme could be taken as state confirmation of an “individual’s bona fides” or an endorsement of any investment they made in Ireland.

The records, release of which has long been disputed by the Department of Justice, said there was “an underlying and strategic reputational risk” for Ireland through continued operation of the scheme to raise funds.

The Department of Justice had originally refused access to the records in their entirety saying that release could impact on the security of the state.

However, they were ordered to release a redacted version of the memos following an appeal by Right to Know to the Information Commissioner.

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24485746-iip-combined

A fast-track government project to provide modular homes for Ukrainian refugees contained unrealistic timelines while the cost per housing unit ended up being nearly double what was originally estimated.

In internal emails, senior officials said a calendar provided to government on when the homes would become available for use had not proved even close to accurate.

The records also said there were issues over the “credibility of cost forecasts” with a price of €200,000 per unit put forward during early planning.

An email from a senior civil servant in the Department of Public Expenditure said: “Clearly, as things have evolved this is not the case. In particular, the costings for [an] additional 200 units appear to have almost doubled from this original estimate.

“This underscores the need for costs to be fully interrogated and have a high degree of confidence in the numbers we put forward to government.”

The Department of Public Expenditure also said there were now major questions over value for money and whether the modular units had ultimately proved any cheaper than other more permanent types of housing.

In a lengthy email to the chairman of the OPW early last year, the department’s Assistant Secretary General John Conlon also said delays and rising costs made it unclear whether modular housing would be a useful model for providing social housing.

It said: “The government decision for Ukraine modular units was exceptional – it provided fast track and prioritisation on all fronts (e.g. procurement, ESB, local authorities, etc).

“A social housing proposal would not be afforded the same prioritisation so taking all these issues into consideration the timelines presented in your document [for social housing] need to be re-evaluated.”

The Department of Public Expenditure said they also needed certainty on how long the modular units would last and what was involved in maintaining them.

The email said: “I appreciate you indicate that it is sixty years. What sort of maintenance requirements do they have versus traditional builds, is there greater upkeep costs etc?”

Records released by the Department of Public Expenditure also reveal how the OPW fast-track project was beset by other difficulties with 70% of sites put forward proving unsuitable for use.

A further update from last October from the Office of Public Works said 310 units would be made available during 2023 but acknowledged there had been delays as well as “upward pressure on costs”.

The briefing document said: “The early sites made available for development have been less than optimal and have resulted in significant site works and abnormal [costs] e.g. invasive species (Japanese Knotweed) in Mahon in Cork City, and other works.

“Consequently, [they] have required considerably more preparation than originally envisaged.”

Another email from a senior official queried how the cost had escalated so significantly from the original government announcement of 500 modular units being delivered at a cost of around €140 million.

The message said: “I have just seen a note from … colleagues that indicates the estimated cost of delivering 700 modular units is now €237 million e.g. €338,571 per unit.

“Crucially the additional 200 units (increasing from 500 to 700) now appear to have an average cost of €407,500 per unit.”

Ministers and TDs paid out more than €186,000 last year through a little-known allowance to cover the cost of public relations, communications, and digital marketing.

Payments under the Special Secretarial Allowance included a sum of €15,375 to Prize Nerd Limited, the company of the well-known writer and actress Stefanie Preissner.

She was contracted by Anne Rabbitte, a Minister of State at the Department of Health with five separate payments of €3,075 made to Ms Preissner’s firm through the scheme in 2023.

In the past, some ministers and TDs have made use of the allowance to hire family members or colleagues from their political party.

However, the Oireachtas – at a time when politicians have been clamouring from greater transparency in organisations like RTÉ – has adopted a policy of redacting details of all expenditure unless the money is paid to a company rather than an individual.

The allowance was used by multiple senior officeholders in 2023 with Minister Helen McEntee paying around €8,600 to a company called GN Digital Marketing.

Access to details of a further €9,200 in expenditure by Ms McEntee has been refused by the Oireachtas on the basis that it is personal information.

Payments by junior ministers included €10,000 to Communique International by Jack Chambers and €1,530 to the UCD English Language Academy by Jennifer Carroll MacNeill.

Transport Minister Eamon Ryan paid €3,056 to Sherpa Event Production while the minister at the Office of Public Works Patrick O’Donovan incurred costs of €2,200 with a company called R&F Marketing.

The former minister Robert Troy also paid €1,500 to Yewtree Infotainment, according to records released under FOI by the Oireachtas.

However, details of the majority of the €186,759 that was spent by ministers and TDs under the scheme have been withheld apart from the amount involved.

Minister of State Hildegarde Naughton paid more than €20,000 to service providers under the Special Secretarial Allowance but the identities of those paid have been blacked out in the records.

Similarly, Junior Minister Thomas Byrne incurred costs of over €16,000 through the scheme but no further detail has been provided with any identifying information withheld.

Under a separate related scheme for secretarial assistance, Ministers and TDs ran up a bill of €786,000 hiring temporary staff to work in their offices or constituencies.

The payments ranged from just €886 to almost €45,000 but once again access to details of those employed has been refused by authorities at Leinster House.

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has found in favour of Right to Know in a key judgment over the availability of copies of technical standards.

In partnership with Public.Resource.Org, Right to Know had in 2018 sought copies of harmonised technical standards for the safety of toys.

The European Commission refused access however, and that decision was upheld by the General Court of the European Union.

Now, in a judgment with wide-ranging impact across the European Union, the CJEU has ruled we should have been granted free access to the technical standards.

In a statement, the court said: “[We find] that there is an overriding public interest in disclosure of the harmonised standards in question.”

The judgment said it was important that citizens should be able to acquaint themselves with the standards that apply so that they could be sure that products or services they bought were in compliance.

It added that the standards formed part of EU law and that access to such was ensured for citizens through their right to access information.

The case has generated interest right across the European Union and its implications are significant.

You can read a full copy of the judgment below or alternatively the press release that was issued by the court here.

The Department of Public Expenditure had to approve payment of €14,367 annual allowances for two senior state roles after separate recruitment campaigns failed to find a suitable applicant.

Both the Health Insurance Authority (HIA) and regulator CORU had been looking for new chief executives last year with a starting salary of just over €100,000 on offer for both posts.

Last August, the senior position at the HIA was advertised with the pay offered on the principal officer (higher) scale, which now starts at €106,187 and rises to €130,951 during a person’s service.

However, the recruitment campaign was unsuccessful in finding somebody suitable for their most senior post.

In a letter, the Department of Public Expenditure said they would agree to add a €14,581 director’s allowance to the position in the hope of finding the ideal candidate.

A letter in December said: “Having regard to the expansion of the HIA in recent years, the increasing complexity of the role, and the unsuccessful recruitment campaign at the existing level, the consent of Minister [Paschal Donohoe] is hereby provided for recruitment to the post at Director level.”

The post was readvertised last month with the consultancy firm Mazars hired to help attract candidates.

It was the same story at CORU, the body responsible for regulating health and social care professionals.

Their efforts to attract a new CEO on a salary scale with starting pay of what was €102,567-a-year – prior to the latest round of pay restoration – also failed.

A letter from the Department of Public Expenditure last November said: “I refer to your correspondence regarding the vacancy at Director Level in CORU due to an unsuccessful recruitment campaign, with the post currently being filled by way of an interim CEO.”

It said sanction to fill the role was being granted on the salary scale of €106,187 to €130,951 with an additional €14,367 in a director’s allowance.

“All costs should be met from existing resources,” said the department.

There was also a significant pay boost for another role in the public sector, as the National Standards Authority of Ireland sought a Director of Medical Services due to the resignation of an employee.

The job was supposed to be offered at Senior Principal Scientific Officer level, which would have commanded a salary starting at €115,392 rising to a maximum of €132,871 during service.

However, the Department of Public Expenditure agreed to bump the position up to Assistant Secretary Level, which instead has a salary scale of between €156,472 and €178,995.

Dublin City Council was bombarded with complaints about its plans for homeless accommodation at a building that ended up being set on fire on New Year’s Eve.

The council was inundated with calls from people suggesting it was going to be used to house “unvetted males” even though its intended use was for families without homes.

The Dublin Regional Homeless Executive (DRHE) received more than thirty complaints about the proposed use of the Shipwright premises in Ringsend with many opposing its use even as an accommodation hub for homeless families.

Despite repeated confirmations that the building would only be used for homeless services, complaints continued to arrive about its use for “undocumented people”, “single males”, and “unvetted men”.

Those terms have been commonly used by the far right and the Shipwright was set on fire on New Year’s Eve with serious damage caused to the former pub.

Rumours about the building were circulating as early as December 18 with the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive confirming they had signed a contract for its use.

An email to one local representative that day said: “The DRHE has contracted the Shipwright for use as emergency accommodation for homeless families.

“Initially, we were looking for emergency accommodation for single men but realised the location suited family accommodation. We have a dedicated complaints email, and you can give this out to anyone who has concerns and we will follow up.”

Right to Know has asked Environment Minister Eamon Ryan to intervene over the imposition of fees in appeal cases for access to environmental information.

For each case, a €50 fee is being applied by the Commissioner for Environmental Information (CEI) even though the Aarhus Convention, under which such requests are made, is intended to ensure the widest possible access to environmental information.

Right to Know has run up thousands of euros in these appeal costs over the past number of years.

Many of the appeals relate to manifestly incorrect decisions by public bodies and semi-states, where the issues involved have already been decided upon multiple times before.

However, public bodies are abusing the appeal system knowing that cases often take a couple of years before being decided.

Last year, we wrote to Minister Ryan asking him to suspend the charging of appeal fees by the Commissioner for Environmental Information (CEI).

His office never responded.

Following our letter, the CEI paused charging fees. However, their position has recently changed and they have now sought a payment of €800 from our transparency group.

As a small not-for-profit, supported only by contributions from the public, this is a very significant cost.

We have again written to Minister Ryan, who is after all a member of the Green Party, asking him to suspend the appeal fee.

We have also asked that he, as a matter of urgency, put in place a permanent legislative amendment to remove the unjustified fee entirely.

You can read the letters below: