Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

This is another demonstration of a senior Minister in a party that has been in Government for too long. The Tánaiste missed completely the extent of anger, frustration and concern that exists among people who are very hard pressed when they see, read about and understand the profligate misspending and misuse of money in this way, after which nothing happens.

The Tánaiste mentioned the Committee of Public Accounts. There were personnel who refused to attend that committee and Deputies of this House, on all sides, including the Government's, were not in a position to ask them questions. The Tánaiste has reports of very high levels of facility being made available on credit cards and the apparent playing fast and loose with taxpayers' money. She pointed out the Garda is carrying out an investigation in this regard but it is not carrying out an investigation into the top up of the pension to the former director general, nor do I suggest it should. The Tánaiste is the person who signed off on that arrangement. What has gone wrong in the public service which does down so many fine officials in so many sectors is precisely that where targets are not met, where targets and objectives are not achieved, where it is clear there is incompetence, gross incompetence in some instances, this is rewarded. This is what causes so much anger for people across the country who are very hard-pressed to make ends meet on a daily and a weekly basis. The former director general admitted he was incorrect and admitted that mistakes were made. The Tánaiste signed off, apparently, on an extra four and a half years of pensionable service for that director general who had, I think, 35 years of service prior to that. Can the Tánaiste justify this on the basis of targets not being achieved, on the basis of incompetence and on the basis of this being admitted by a director general of a very important and massive organisation spending almost €1 billion? She is aware that if a member of the Garda Síochána steps out of line in a serious manner, his or her pension is ended. In this case as in others, the regulator included, there has been a very hefty reward for incompetence. I ask the Tánaiste to explain to the House why she, as Tánaiste and as the Minister presiding over FÁS, was in a position to sign off on an extra four and a half years' pensionable service for the former director general, in view of the incompetence and the inefficiency palpably demonstrated and the waste of public money at the very highest level.

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