Has John O' Donoghue resigned yet

Here's a good one on expenses.

A couple of years ago I visited a (public sector) client. A bit of initial banter etc - turns out that the biggest gripe for him at that time was that his mileage expenses had been reduced. His assessment?

I quote: "Now it's down to only X per mile - sure how are you supposed to make anything on that?"

As he was a customer I thought it best not to point out that expenses were generally a non-profit making exercise, but he was genuinely annoyed and TBH I couldn't believe he said it with a straight face.
 
A neighbour of mine (public service) always put in mileage claims of between €300 and €500 per month regardless of whether she has used her car or not.

To be honest it doesn't actually bother me at all after all the TD's and Ministers etc have spent. Would prefer she had it to them. LS.
 
A neighbour of mine (public service) always put in mileage claims of between €300 and €500 per month regardless of whether she has used her car or not.

To be honest it doesn't actually bother me at all after all the TD's and Ministers etc have spent. Would prefer she had it to them. LS.

So what you are saying is that you don't mind your neighbour being a thief because other steal more? Charming!
 
A neighbour of mine (public service) always put in mileage claims of between €300 and €500 per month regardless of whether she has used her car or not.

I don't get the ambivalent attitude towards this practice. It's not okay just because one might know the individual. It's FRAUD - punishable by a custodial sentence as well as the loss of one's job.

And I can't believe that anyone would be so stupid as to boast about it to their neighbour.
 
I quote: "Now it's down to only X per mile - sure how are you supposed to make anything on that?"

I have ex colleagues (public sector) who were furious when mileage rate was reduced. But as I said, they 'compensated' by putting in for more miles, whether or not they did those miles. They were openly admitting this to be until recently when the whole public v private debate erupted...
 
I have ex colleagues (public sector) who were furious when mileage rate was reduced. But as I said, they 'compensated' by putting in for more miles, whether or not they did those miles. They were openly admitting this to be until recently when the whole public v private debate erupted...

A neighbour of mine (public service) always put in mileage claims of between €300 and €500 per month regardless of whether she has used her car or not.

Either there is some parallel universe in existence out there, or somebody is telling stories. It is time to shut up or put up.

If this is happen, report it. To the fraud squad, or your local opposition TD, or Joe Duffy or the C&AG or Shane Ross. Take your pick, but report it at 9am tomorrow giving their names and your name.

The public sector that I work in bears no relationship to the one that your friends seem to work in.
 
Why do people even care any more about such fraud?
When the whole system seems to be corrupt, and now verging on failure? It's like switching the taps of a sink off on board the Titanic, while it's half submerged.

I noticed today that someone called drumm just got another bunch load of money. €70k of our money.

Meanwhile, normal people are probably going to get hammered in the budget. Maybe we should all start bartering instead, and forget about using money.
 
I had to share this - it's from the Irish beauty blog www.beaut.ie ordinarily concerned with new beauty products, sales deals and swap siopa (look it up!)
But this new fragrance should be known:

"It’s the new fragrance from J.O.D - Expense. Formulated exclusively to bring out his dark side it inventively uses the tagline: For the grasping black caricature of the man that I am
The very atmosphere of Irish Politics today evoked in its alluring fragrance. Top notes of corruption settle down with lingering traces of greed and leaves a strong scent of entitlement hanging in the air
It’s what every splutteringly indignant red faced minister will be wearing this season to cope with trial by soundbite.
Leave your office with your head held high. Do it with Expense.
Reasonably priced at €100k. Just charge it to the taxpayer."
 
A neighbour of mine (public service) always put in mileage claims of between €300 and €500 per month regardless of whether she has used her car or not.

To be honest it doesn't actually bother me at all after all the TD's and Ministers etc have spent. Would prefer she had it to them. LS.

The most ridiculous, absurd post I have ever read. Report this individual for christ's sake.
 
Why do people even care any more about such fraud?
When the whole system seems to be corrupt, and now verging on failure?

Meanwhile, normal people are probably going to get hammered in the budget.

What is wrong with us that we just accept all of this? The Icelanders banged pots for 8 days and drummed their government out. In the UK, locals held rowdy meetings with their MPs, many of whom will stand down at next election, and will pay back the money they used in expenses.

Here, we call Joe Duffy, Liveline and post late night on AAM...

We should have every drum, bongo, bodhran, lamberg and timpani drum outside the Dail and drum the FFers out.
 
We had an audit from Revenue last week. She looked at all expenses. We allow the lowest rate for mileage and have no fixed rate allowances (no fixed amount for overnight stays etc). There is little of no scope for expenses abuse in the private sector. I’m not saying people don’t try it but if they do it will catch up with them.

They don't catch anyone or very few as they only audit the honest, it's easier. Those they could have caught are generally long gone.
 
We should have every drum, bongo, bodhran, lamberg and timpani drum outside the Dail and drum the FFers out.
I'll fly over for this march - when will someone organise it - never. All those who voted for FF will do so again as FF are us and they look after their own. Even as they s----w everybody they will be voted in again. No matter that they have brought the country to it's knees they will stay in power.
When I hear that Beverly Cooper Flynn alone stood up to give O' Donoghue a standing ovation I despair. But she'll be re elected and so will he.
They are all pigs at the trough. We get what we vote for. Think about that when you're paying for Nama, when no banker or developer goes to jail, while normal people are jailed for miniscule debts, when people are hounded for diddling a few pence from social welfare, and spied upon to see how many times they sleep with their partner, when politicians receive salaries beyond the dreams of many, beyond what the country can afford, when your bank fines you for missing a payment and then slaps another charge just to show you whose boss, when they take your house from you because they should never had loaned you the money in the first place, when you live in an unfinished housing estate in the middle of nowhere, while the planners who have nothing to do refuse to change job, when your child goes to a school where the class size increases and is housed in a prefab with holes and cold and draughts and you have to supply toilet roll and make a contribution from your dwindling salary to pay for the heating, but the teachers refuse to see you outside of school hours so you have to take the afternoon off work unpaid, when the heads of state bodies retire into the sunset on ludicrous pensions and cars and extra payments thrown in for free, when your credit card supplier rings you day and night till you can't sleep with the worry, when your child is on a waiting list for an operation and as each day goes by her condition detoriates, when you have to sell your home to pay for your medical bills in retirement, when the doctor that sees you is paid by the state a salary of stratospheric proportions who will only deign to see you at hours that suit him and does a nice sideline in private patients that miraculously get seen before you, where your car gets damaged by pot holes on the main national route that is not a motorway yet, where your child allowance will decrease along with the pension even as your salary is taxed and levied beyond recognition and woe betide you should you make an innocent mistake on your tax return 20 years ago for the levies and penalties will eat all your savings, meanwhile those that pay no tax will still be living in a mansion and driving a BMW while their girlfriend will have 4 kids and make more money on the dole than working could ever justify and will be renting out the council house kindly supplied by you, a country where if you commit a sexual crime of vilest proportions you won't go to jail but your victim will be treated as a leper and outcast and live a life of shame, where if you report it the state will fight against you and do everything to obstruct you and protect the perpetuators and those that fiddle their tax return will have an amnesty and diddle some more of even that and wait for the next amnesty, but if you had your small savings innocently in an offshore account, kindly suggested to you by the local bank manager, you will pay more than saved in back tax so that you are left with nothing and can't afford to turn on the heating when your bones are cold and old, where if you take a smear test you cannot rely on it and could even die and the man in charge of that gets a bonus of 70K for magnificent performance.
Think about that when next you vote.
 
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I think Beverly Cooper Flynn should from this day be call Beverly Cheesy Grin.

She really sums up the power hungry thrash that are unfortunetly voted into to the Dail. Shame on certain counties for voting in the obviously dodgy "politicians"
 
An ex-colleague of mine who now works for the HSE told me recently that it's routine to drive a letter/package 120 miles to the destination, rather than post it.

Obviously, the drive of 240 miles means a nice €150+ profit !!
 
A neighbour of mine (public service) always put in mileage claims of between €300 and €500 per month regardless of whether she has used her car or not.

To be honest it doesn't actually bother me at all after all the TD's and Ministers etc have spent. Would prefer she had it to them. LS.

Sounds extremely odd. You can't just 'put in' a claim. It has to be signed off by someone at senior management level and the purpose of the trip has to be submitted to Finance Unit before they will pay any mileage. Also, each Department has an Internal Audit Unit who I am sure would have spotted something like this.
I'm talking about the Civil Service. I'm not sure if your neighbour works for a semi-state??
 
An ex-colleague of mine who now works for the HSE told me recently that it's routine to drive a letter/package 120 miles to the destination, rather than post it.

Obviously, the drive of 240 miles means a nice €150+ profit !!
I really don't believe that this happens. But if you believe it is happen, put a stop to it. Report it and get it sorted.


I would say it depends on which dept or council you work in and whether you use your car for work etc.
I deal with a lot of agencies, and councils, and depts, and I have never, ever come across any situations like this.

This would need sign off by line manager, head of dept, senior finance manager and 2 x cheque/EFT signatories. This kind of abuse is not happening on a wide scale, if at all.
 
I really don't believe that this happens. But if you believe it is happen, put a stop to it. Report it and get it sorted.
I couldn't believe it either but he was adamant that it was happening. I don't know the person or dept responsible but I encouraged him to report it too.

It seems the expenses culture of making a tidy profit is widespread and that we all know of it happening but how is it stopped apart from a severe clampdown on the rules governing it.
 
Mileage was always one of those expenses that was open to abuse in both the public and private sector as it was almost impossible to police.

The whole system stinks and has for years. Imagine being paid almost €140 per day if you live 15.1 miles from your office and you come into work. Anyone within 15 miles gets €61. Doesn't exactly reflect real life does it?
 
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