The Irish member of the European Court of Auditors has criticised what he described as the 'spend-the-budget mentality' in the public service.
Speaking to a group of Chartered Accountants in Dublin earlier today, Eoin O'Shea said this culture meant that there was no incentive for public servants to be more efficient.
He said that in the private sector, if you don't spend all your budget, you make more profit.
But if the same thing happened in the public sector, the person responsible for not spending the money would be heavily criticised.
Mr O'Shea became a member of the European Court of Auditors last March after Máire Geoghegan-Quinn left to take up a position on the EU Commission.
He refused to comment on any aspect of the EU-IMF aid package to Ireland saying that the full details of the deal hadn't been released, and as such, it would be premature for a member of the European Court of Auditors to comment.
However he added that that, as of yesterday evening, the rate in the market place if Ireland were to borrow was 9.4% as opposed to the 5.83% interest rate under the EU-IMF package.
