Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

It really is not good enough that such an important organisation should have operated in the manner it did for such a long period. It is only now being brought to the committee's attention that most of the money has not been paid back. The same seems to apply in a number of other State bodies. The committee has seen that there is no proper policy being pursued in the HSE on travel or entertainment. It is clearly not good enough that FÁS should have taken it on itself to provide the same services for its members' spouses as it did for its members in certain categories. The committee needs to look at the issue on a broader basis and write to all of the agencies involved requesting them to examine their practices to ensure they are in compliance with proper standard practices. This issue comes up from time to time in the case of the HSE, FÁS and other agencies. In the case of FÁS, there is a legacy issue, it pertains also during the years in a number of agencies. As well as ensuring the committee has it finally sorted out, I suggest it write to all bodies in receipt of public funds and that are using taxpayers' money to fund their operations to ensure they are compliant and that they write back to confirm the practices in place.