Irish councils 'put in false invoices'
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• Irish police are to investigate haw almost IF117m of ELI funds was paid to four councils to fund road building projects that were never completed.
Last week Ireland's public accounts committee called on the Garda to examine payments made by the National Roads Authority (NBA) to Cork, Tipperary North, Tipperary South and Donegal councils.
Each local authority in Ireland supervises the building of the roads in its area by agreement with the NRA.
The committee was told, by the controller and auditor gen
oral, that the councils concerned had submitted a number of false invoices.
Each local authority is understood to have received payment on invoices procured from prospective contractors, said the committee.
Two of the councils have since refunded cash to the authority, following an NRA request that they confirm that roads paid for in their areas were in fact built.
The committee criticised the National Roads Authority for a "serious lack of control" of these payments.