Barry investigation ‘necessary’

The Auditor-General, John Ryan, has decided the most appropriate course of action is for the Parliamentary Service to carry out further investigation into the complaint.

The auditor-general has recommended a parliamentary investigation into allegations concerning possible misuse of party and member support funding.

In December, a former staffer of National MP Maggie Barry laid a complaint with Auditor-General John Ryan over allegations the MP forced parliamentary staff to carry out party political work during work hours.

That would be a misuse of parliamentary funding, which is funded by the taxpayer.

At the time Barry rejected all claims of bullying and the inappropriate use of parliamentary resources.

This week, Ryan responded to the complaint, referring the allegations back to the Parliamentary Service.

He considered further investigation into the concerns was necessary but after discussions with staff from the Parliamentary Service office, he decided the most appropriate course of action was for the Parliamentary Service to carry out the investigation.

He did not intend to inquire further into the matter at this stage.

However, depending on the outcome of the Parliamentary Service’s investigation, he might decide that further work by his office is warranted.

He asked to be kept informed of the outcome of its investigation.

In his letter to Parliamentary Service, Ryan said the claims were of interest to him because they concerned the use of party and member support funding, which was one of the appropriations in Vote Parliamentary Service.

Any concerns about the use of appropriations fell directly within his mandate as controller and auditor-general.

‘‘In order to decide what investigation, if any, my office needs to carry out into this matter, my staff have reviewed the information provided by the correspondent and have also met with senior personnel from the Parliamentary Service to find out what steps the Parliamentary Service has taken in response to the claims,’’ Ryan said.

‘‘Based on discussions with your staff, my understanding is that the Parliamentary Service was made aware of the concerns that have been raised with us about staff being asked to do political party work during work hours.’’

However, the concerns were raised in the context of a broader investigation into an employment matter, and have therefore so far been considered only in that context, he said.

‘‘My understanding is that a specific investigation into whether there has been a breach of the appropriation has not yet been carried out.’’

A spokeswoman for Barry said: ‘‘The auditor-general has decided it is more appropriate for Parliamentary Service to look at this matter. Maggie Barry denies any breaches occurred and welcomes the opportunity to talk with Parliamentary Service about any concerns.’’