The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has been asked to examine claims made by a whistleblower regarding alleged governance and procurement issues at a Tusla facility in Cork City.
Ciarán Kenneally resigned from his role at an aftercare service based at Liberty Street House in January 2019, shortly after making a protected disclosure related to financial procedures at the centre.
In November 2025, Mr Kenneally submitted a second protected disclosure to Tusla, saying another former employee of the agency had contacted him with information which supported his initial disclosure.
Newly released documents show an internal review, carried out in late 2018, raised several issues about financial management at the service.
The review found there was an absence of guidelines for staff in terms of financial management, inconsistent record-keeping and “a practice of withdrawing cash without regard to combined known requirements and contingency funds”.
The review was released this month following a Freedom of Information request submitted by Ken O’Flynn, an Independent Ireland TD for Cork North-Central. Mr Kenneally has worked for Mr O’Flynn since early 2025. The former Tusla employee said he was not aware the review took place until recently.
The Liberty Street House facility supports service users, often young people experiencing homelessness, via cash and vouchers.
Additional records released via the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act show almost €52,000 in cash was issued by Tusla within the Liberty Street aftercare service in 2018 and 2019 – €27,557 and €24,059 respectively. The amount of cash released to the service decreased in subsequent years: €20,477 in 2020, €16,607 in 2021 and €15,302 in 2022, the files show.
The internal review in 2018 made a number of recommendations including that administrative and financial procedures at the aftercare service needed to be updated and clear guidelines should be put in place for staff related to cash withdrawals and record-keeping. The review also recommended that “unannounced visits should be undertaken to physically count cash and check all databases are maintained on a real-time basis and supporting documentation is available and correct”.
Mr Kenneally said the review contains “evidence in black and white” which supports his claims about financial issues at the centre at the time.
On January 20th, Mr O’Flynn wrote to PAC chair John Brady asking if the committee would examine the matter. Mr Brady, a Sinn Féin TD for Wicklow, confirmed he had received the letter and will discuss its contents with the wider committee during a private session at its meeting on Thursday.
In the letter, Mr O’Flynn said the records released via FOI “highlight significant concerns relating to the handling of cash and vouchers at this facility”. He asked the committee to meet Mr Kenneally to discuss his concerns.
Mr Kenneally settled an unfair dismissal case with Tusla at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) in November 2019.
Earlier this month, the Data Protection Commission found Tusla failed to demonstrate a lawful basis under General Data Protection Regulation for its processing of Mr Kenneally’s personal data while carrying out a background check on him.
A spokesman for Tusla said the agency “does not comment on individual protected disclosure cases”.
“The agency’s internal audit function carries out a number of internal audits which include financial transactions,” a statement noted.
“As part of our standard practice, where financial weaknesses are identified, Tusla’s internal audit team reviews policies and makes recommendations to strengthen financial practices.
“Tusla has a suite of financial regulations covering all financial processes which are reviewed and amended on an ongoing basis to ensure there are robust financial controls in place.”