Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I am not going to stand up in the House and impugn the personal integrity of any person. The House has discussed on a number of occasions the capacity of appointees of the Government to do the job for which they are appointed. One of the primary considerations of this Government has been to focus on the business of wastage of money. It is now perfectly obvious that there is something radically wrong in regard to the organisation known as FÁS or Foras Áiseanna Saothair. This organisation has an expenditure of €1 billion at its disposal. Since the latest revelations, my office has been flooded with claims. I do not know whether they are valid but they are coming from most unusual sources. In light of the fact that the fraud squad is undertaking an investigation; the Comptroller and Auditor General has been ordered in by the Tánaiste or at least she has attempted to order him to conduct an investigation; and the Committee of Public Accounts is investigating various matters concerning FÁS, I wish to remind the Taoiseach of what he said in June when he stated that the chief executive of that organisation was a person he held in the highest regard and whose integrity he would defend at all times.

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