The Dáil’s public spending watchdog is to examine errors in pension payments for civil servants and ministers. It has agreed to issue an invitation to the national office at the centre of the controversy to be quizzed by TDs.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) wants representatives of the National Shared Services Office (NSSO) to face questions on the matter as early as next month.
On Tuesday, it was revealed that a pool of 13,000 retired civil servants who were on work-sharing arrangements are to have their pension deductions checked for underpayments.
Current Government ministers may also either owe or be owed money running into the thousands as a result of incorrect pension deductions, while former ministers are believed to be impacted as well.
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There is also an issue in relation to the pensions of 30 retired senior civil servants. One of them could owe as much as €280,000 as a result of NSSO errors.
Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers has announced an external audit of NSSO systems and processes and a broad external review of its capacity and structures.
Social Democrats TD Aidan Farrelly, a member of the PAC, said there is “really significant worry” over the issues that have arisen.
At a committee meeting on Thursday, he proposed that representatives of the NSSO be brought in alongside the Department of Public Expenditure (DPER), which already is due to appear at the PAC on July 10th.
Mr Farrelly told The Irish Times the committee has questions about how far back the issues go and which civil service grades are affected.
PAC chairman, Sinn Féin TD John Brady, said the invitation is to be issued to the NSSO “given the emergence of serious issues” there.
Separately, the PAC also agreed to invite the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) as well as the Department of Health and the Health Service Executive (HSE) to appear before them next month to be asked about oversight of private nursing homes.
This follows on from an RTÉ Investigates programme last week that showed undercover footage at two private nursing homes.
Distressing scenes included older people allegedly being manhandled as well as residents being ignored when they pled for help to go to the toilet.
Mr Brady said the PAC “has serious concerns” in the wake of the programme.
The PAC agreed to invite Hiqa – which inspects nursing homes – to appear before it following requests for this to happen from Labour Party TD Eoghan Kenny and Fine Gael’s James Geoghegan.
