Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

This is the first of two reports into FÁS, the second of which is currently being drafted by the Comptroller and Auditor General.

In November 2008, after initial intense negotiations on the terms of his departure, the then director general tendered his resignation following reports of excessive travel expenditure in the organisation. In the interest of allowing FÁS to focus on its core mission, an interim director general was appointed. I again met the chair and some members of the board of FÁS and expressed my further concern at events that had taken place in the corporate affairs division.

In regard to the issue of foreign travel in FÁS, I instructed the Secretary General of my Department to ensure that FÁS was compliant with Department of Finance regulations.

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