Teknovis

The Irish Government’s spending watchdog (the Comptroller and Auditor General) has reported on the staff overspending in Irish Universities, and some of the findings are reported in University staff paid €8.1m in excess of approved rates – Comptroller & Auditor General.

The breakdown is as follows:

• UCD – 3,600,000€
• UCC – 1,640,000€
• TCD – 1,500,000€
• UCG – 578,000€
• UL – 448,000
• NUI Maynooth – 272,000€
• DCU – 53,000€

However, it is not all good news regarding DCU – it bailed out two of its subsidiary companies. I do not understand why these companies were created as commercial ventures in the first place.

WIT (not a university) also receives criticism:

It cites breaches of spending policy on subsistence and hospitality – including €18,452 spent on flowers and €3,067 on gifts.

Unfortunately, I am not surprised by this :o It is not the first time that WIT has been found misappropriating funds (see How WIT Spends the Taxpayers’ Money). WIT seems to have the worst reputation in Ireland based upon the people whom I have met!

I would like to think that the institutions involved have repaid the money, and that the relevant people have been demoted or fired.

Tags: DCU, NUIM, TCD, UCC, UCD, UCG, UL, WIT

I came across this interesting article comparing payment methods – Comparing All The New Payment Methods – NFC, Mobile Wallet, Self Checkout, and More. It is a little dated, but still very relevant!

I must admit that I still find it weird that I never need to use my credit card PIN number in the US! All that is ever required is a pathetic attempt to repeat my signature on a touchscreen with a digital pen that feels as accurate as a hammer! Another weird thing in the US is the way that the waiter/waitress disappears for ages with my credit card when I am paying in restaurants!

It is Friday afternoon, so I think that a bit of humour would be appropriate ;)

I came across If you do this in an email, I hate you during the week, and I must admit that I can empathise with a lot of these scenarios!

There are also several other very funny cartoons there!

Enjoy the weekend!