Ineligible expenditure of nearly €20,000 and an unused grant of more than €47,000 were returned to Skillnet Ireland following an investigation into allegations set out in a protected disclosure, the Department of Further and Higher Education is expected to tell a Dáil committee.Skillnet Ireland, which receives about €50 million in grant funding from the department each year, aims to support the competitiveness, productivity and innovation of businesses through the training and development of workers.The department is expected to tell the Dáil Public Accounts Committee on Thursday that Skillnet provides funding to what are known as contracting organisations who operate business networks.The department will say that these networks bring together groups of companies on a sectoral or regional basis to identify and address their skills needs.“In his audit of the 2024 National Training Fund financial statements, the Comptroller and Auditor General drew attention to a protected disclosure received by Skillnet in late 2023, which raised concerns regarding the operation of one such contracting organisation.“Reviews of this entity were carried out by Skillnet Ireland, including through the engagement of an independent external reviewer. The overall process was complex and protracted. These investigations ultimately identified two amounts to be returned to Skillnet Ireland: ineligible expenditure of €18,942, and an unused grant amount of €47,639.“These two amounts have since been repaid in full to Skillnet Ireland.”The department will tell the committee that Skillnet has made referrals to the Garda, the Revenue Commissioners and the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement on these matters.In a separate briefing document to the committee, the department said the protected disclosure submitted to Skillnet, the office of the Minister for Further and Higher Education and the Comptroller and Auditor General in September 2023 contained allegations of non‑compliance with legal obligations, unlawful or improper use of public funds or resources, and concealment or destruction of information relating to these matters.It said an external investigator was appointed to look into the issues raised and this process got under way in late 2024.“Throughout the investigation, the contracting organisation for the network engaged with the investigator through its legal representatives and did not provide the requested documentation,” the department’s briefing note stated.The note said the investigation considered 15 allegations, with 32 sub-parts in total.“Skillnet advise that the investigation was significantly constrained due to:• persistent non-co-operation by the contracting organisation• refusal to provide key financial records (eg bank statements)• refusal of relevant individuals to participate• no statutory powers to compel evidence.”Skillnet advised that the report’s findings were confined to what could be established on the balance of probabilities from the evidence available. It said of the 32 sub-allegations:“• 10 were upheld by the investigation• six were not upheld• there was insufficient information to make a finding on the remaining 16.”