The Garda Commissioner Noirín O’Sullivan has described the practices uncovered relating to accounting and expenditure at the Garda training college in Templemore as unacceptable.

However, Commissioner O’Sullivan said the problems went back as far as 40 years and that, so far, paper trails had not been uncovered.

She is facing questions at the Public Accounts Committee about why, when concerns were first raised in 2006, it took until last year for a full internal audit to be carried out.

An Garda Síochána’s Internal Audit Section found evidence that funds were being spent on gifts and entertainment. It also discovered many bank accounts as part of what they called “a non-transparent system of accounting”. One of them was a laundry account which they say was not being used for that purpose.

The Commissioner admitted the Gardaí had not yet fully worked out whether criminal activity went on.

She said: “I have asked the people who conducted the audit…whether there is anybody who has reasonable grounds to suspect that a crime has been committed, and what I’m informed is – no.

“However, I have asked an assistant commissioner to also examine the content of the interim audit report.”