An annual allowance of €317,000 provided to the President is not subject to audit, a meeting of the Public Account Committee (PAC) has heard.
The unspecified allowance, which one member said could be perceived as a “slush fund” has been paid to Presidents, at its current level, since 1998 from central funds controlled by the Department of Finance.
Comptroller and Auditor General Seamus McCarthy and Secretary General at the Department of the Taoiseach Martin Fraser told a PAC meeting on Tuesday the allowance was made under the Presidential Establishment Act 1938 and there was no direction on how it was spent.
“I have no doubt it is spent in a very good manner,” said Fianna Fáil TD Marc MacSharry, who raised the issue. “The point is that it is not audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General.
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