Deirdre Clune (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

I wish to share my time with Deputies McCormack and Varadkar.

The motion tabled by Deputy Shortall and the Labour Party outlines many issues surrounding the operations of FÁS, particularly the reports that have been published by the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Committee of Public Accounts. These reports have given rise to serious concerns among some but they have also given rise to outright rage among many as they outline the outrageous spending excesses at FÁS by a select few.

FÁS is an agency working on the ground with people who find themselves unemployed and in need of training and education. I agree that there is much good work done by that agency and many of its employees. Those employees are disconcerted and disappointed with the outcome of the deliberations of the Comptroller and Auditor General and of the Committee of Public Accounts.

FÁS is still responsible for spending of €1 billion per annum. It is charged with carrying out an important function on behalf of the State, namely, training those who are unemployed. It is needed now more than ever. There are 430,000 people unemployed and in need of its services, yet FÁS is now under scrutiny in the media and in this House and the Committee of Public Accounts for its total failure to ensure that public moneys were spent appropriately and with due consideration and responsibility. Instead, we have been subject to a litany of excesses — overspending, lack of adherence to procurement guidelines, and failure to account for spending and justify decisions that resulted in excess spending. I recognise that the Comptroller and Auditor General is carrying out further investigations and we heard today about a prosecution in our courts. However, we must remind ourselves that many of the outcomes we have heard so far are the result of an anonymous letter that was sent to the former Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Harney, who passed it to the chairman and the board of FÁS, resulting in the internal audit report INV 137.

I acknowledge that the Tánaiste, who has left the House, has requested a report from the Comptroller and Auditor General. However, the point being made in the motion before the House, with which I agree, is that two other Ministers were also responsible for overseeing the activities of FÁS, namely, the former Ministers for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputies Mary Harney and Micheál Martin, at the time these excesses which have now come to light were taking place. Those Ministers and their accountability are also in question.

Last week in the Committee of Public Accounts, the true size of the pension payment to Mr. Molloy was revealed. The actuarial value of the pension is estimated to be €1.2 million, which is outrageous. Ordinary people who have paid into their pensions and are now watching them go down the drain would never in their wildest dreams have hoped to contribute to a pension of that value. However, it appears that a person who decided his position was no longer tenable and volunteered to resign found himself in a position to negotiate or was presented with a golden handshake. We need to get to the bottom of this. The whole episode smacks of certain people looking after one of their own rather than letting a person go because he had failed in his duty to oversee the spending of public money. It would not happen in the private sector and it should not happen in the public sector.

I am disappointed the legislation published today does not include a firm commitment to deal with issues such as this. Guidelines are not good enough; we need legislation to ensure that public officials who have acted inappropriately and failed to live up to the commitment entailed in their employment can be let go or dismissed. This did not happen in the case of Mr. Molloy, who was offered a golden handshake. He had offered to resign and it seems he was doing everyone a favour by offering his head on a plate. At that time FÁS was in the eye of the storm. The internal audit report was before the Committee of Public Accounts, and Mr. Molloy had been on the radio that week defending the excesses in the area of foreign travel, which were not in keeping with Department of Finance guidelines. He subsequently admitted the interview was a mistake and, within days, went to the then chairman of the board and offered his resignation. Anyone who has read the transcript of the Committee of Public Accounts from last week will recall the long day described by Peter McLoone. Mr. Molloy came to him before 8 a.m. and it was close to 8 p.m. when the deal was finally struck.

It is extraordinary that there was no concept of the impact this inflated pension payment would have on the public. People are outraged by it. They cannot see why somebody who should have been dismissed and volunteered to resign was entitled to a golden handshake as if he was retiring after a long career in which he had excelled himself, when in fact he had failed to deal with breaches of guidelines, particularly in the corporate affairs unit of FÁS. Throughout the saga that is unfolding we have had an alarming insight into the lack of control and oversight that existed. Public procurement guidelines were ignored on a regular basis. Anybody who has worked with a public body or local authority, as I have, will know that even when buying so much as a lawnmower, tenders must be sought. However, individuals in FÁS gave themselves the freedom to breach these guidelines, to award lucrative contracts without seeking tenders and to ensure in some cases that those in the know were awarded contracts.

There are serious questions with regard to the amount of money spent on advertising. Between 2002 and 2008, €40 million was spent on advertising and related activities, including jobs fairs and activities to promote science. This was at a time when we had full employment. One of the sad outcomes of these excesses was mentioned in the opening statement of the director general of FÁS to the Committee of Public Accounts last week when he stated that advertising spending in FÁS was being reduced by 90% this year pending a strategic review by the organisation of a new communications and marketing strategy. This is a time when FÁS and the service it offers are most needed. Expenditure on foreign travel is to be reduced by 60%, and the science programme, which was mentioned by the Minister in her speech, has been cancelled. This was the reason for much of the foreign travel and-----

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