Laois and Offaly ETB’s €860,000 in non-compliant spending

Laois and Offaly Education and Training Board (LOETB) incurred “significant expenditure” in 2025 which did not comply with public procurement guidelines, the Comptroller and Auditor General has found.

In an audit on the board’s financial statements, Comptroller and Auditor General Seamus McCarthy noted the LOETB’s own statement on internal control disclosed the breaches.

The LOETB financial statement revealed expenditure totalling €860,427.22 (excl. VAT) has been identified as non-compliant from an analysis of its 2025 spending.

Referring to these breaches of a system of internal control, LOETB said it was “fully committed to complying with EU and national procurement regulations and guidelines”.

However, it said there were instances where goods and services had been procured locally at several sites in line with LOETB's Procurement Policy and procedures but not in line with government procurement frameworks.

In addition, “contracts tendered for in compliance with LOETB procurement procedures did not have new contracts in place in line with expiry dates,” it said.

The non-compliant expenditure was listed across a number of categories, Metalwork, Printing and Design Supplies, Contract Cleaning, Loose Furniture, Managed Print, Plant & Machinery, Recycled Office Paper and Schools Management Information System.

The largest single amount, €454,205.63, related to plant and machinery, followed by €148,689.83 for contract cleaning, and €116,025.68 in the managed print category.

LOETB said it would “continue to monitor and review all areas of expenditure to identify opportunities where tendering and the utilisation of existing National Frameworks for goods and services will provide best value for money and meet compliance requirements”.