Some 135 cheques worth £61,000, issued by the Chief State Solicitor's Office, were cashed irregularly in one licensed premises between January 1996 and October 1998, the report states. It says a member of staff was suspended from the office after bona-fide cheques failed to reach their payee, while other fictitious or duplicate cheques were cashed irregularly. "The cheques were cashed in a licensed premises and, although crossed, were subsequently accepted by the bank for lodgement to the business's account," says the report.
Fees paid to counsel or costs awarded against the State are processed through the office. The report says a Garda investigation is continuing. It says this investigation suggests irregular transactions were carried out prior to 1996, "but details of numbers and amounts involved were difficult to ascertain".
Mr John Purcell proposes to seek recovery of the amounts irregularly cashed and formal legal advice is awaited.