Docklands authority accused over financial control

John Gormley, Environment Minister, said he was extending the remit of the state’s public spending watchdog to cover the DDDA, set up to transform the old docks into a thriving quarter.

Professor Niamh Brennan, DDDA chairman, said the legacy of past failures were being tackled by new management.

“These (legacy issues) have undermined public confidence in the organisation, imperilled our financial position and given rise to serious concerns about past decisions made by the Docklands Authority,” she said.

The first report by consultant Declan Brassil found the DDDA‘s planners were more focused on facilitating development than regulating it, to the point of shoehorning proposals to comply with rules.

Approval rates for applications were at 98% from September 2005 to September 2006 as the property boom entered its final stages.

Mr Gormley said he was anxious at all times to ensure openness and transparency with the Comptroller & Auditor General and the (Dáil) Public Accounts Committee.

The minister said he does not believe the Taoiseach has any questions to answer over the controversy.

“I don’t believe so because certainly in my discussions on this issue no impediments were put in my way and nobody said to me let‘s not investigate that,” Mr Gormley said.

“He didn’t have direct authorisation in relation to this matter.”

Prof Brennan added: “We readily acknowledge that further investigation is appropriate, particularly as new information is continually coming to light since completion of the Brassil and King Reports."

“We welcome the opportunity to share this information with the C&AG at the earliest opportunity.”

The reports found no control system in place in some areas, notably salary increases and the renewal of staff contracts with authority resting entirely with then chief executive Paul Maloney.

It said Mr Maloney was not scrutinised by other senior DDDA staff, partly because it was found he did not bring issues to the attention of the board.

Other findings included:

:: Value-for-money was largely absent in the DDDA‘s work;

:: Questions remain over the DDDA‘s planning decisions with some findings reported as “commercially sensitive”;

:: Key information was withheld from the board – notably the half-built Anglo-Irish Bank headquarters;

:: Further questions remain over the background to the controversial 412 million euro purchase of the Irish Glass Bottle Site;

:: Substantial amounts of documentation on the cost of running the DDDA is missing.

Fine Gael accused the minister of doing a U-turn claiming the Greens and Fianna Fáil had voted down a Bill from the party to set up a C&AG investigation six months ago.

“It was nothing but poor and partisan judgment by Minister Gormley when he refused to accept the Fine Gael Bill in December 2009,” party spokesman Phil Hogan said.

“It was obvious to everyone that there were systematic conflicts of interest for years in the DDDA Board that eventually led it to its financial ruin.”

Labour’s environment spokeswoman Joanna Tuffy said bringing in the C&AG was a case of closing the stable door after the horse has bolted.

“However, there are also serious questions about the adequacy of the political supervision of the DDDA as it embarked on its reckless, developer-driven strategy,” Ms Tuffy said.

“Minister Gormley and his predecessors over the past decade have all had representatives on the board of the DDDA. Why was it that Ministerial representatives did not blow the whistle on the reckless strategy that was being embarked upon?”