Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the report of the Committee of Public Accounts on FÁS and commend the committee for the work carried out in this matter. I note that while the report in general concentrates on what went wrong in FÁS, it also points out that the good work being done by the staff should not be overlooked in any commentary.

Many of the issues contained in the report have already been aired in public. Previously, I have expressed my concerns in respect of various matters raised by internal audit reports in FÁS and subsequently taken up by the Comptroller and Auditor General in his earlier report on a number of public bodies.

Since the publication of these reports, a series of steps has been undertaken to deal with the matters raised. In particular, FÁS has clarified its procedures and strengthened its internal controls, including in the audit and procurement areas, and has passed certain issues to the Garda for investigation. A copy of the internal audit report INV 137, which was the basis for the Comptroller and Auditor General's report, has been sent to the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement. The Comptroller and Auditor General has commenced a wide-ranging investigation in FÁS, which includes internal controls, governance arrangements, marketing and advertising and specific follow-up of matters raised in the course of hearings of the Committee of Public Accounts. The chairman of FÁS, following a request from my Department has provided an undertaking that FÁS is now fully compliant with Department of Finance regulations on foreign travel. The board of FÁS has stated that whatever additional actions are necessary arising from the report will be fully implemented.

In keeping with standard practice, a formal response to the Committee of Public Accounts on this report will be contained in the minute of the Minister for Finance on the Report of the Committee of Public Accounts on the Fourth Interim Report on Special Report 10 of the Comptroller and Auditor General and FÁS 2007 Accounts. Officials in my Department and FÁS are currently preparing their inputs into the Minister of Finance's minute.

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