Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)

This important and relevant amendment stems from the package awarded to Mr. Molloy on his resignation from FÁS. That package, both in terms of the additional top-ups and the discretionary payments, was absolutely not in accordance with either the closed FÁS superannuation scheme or the scheme adopted by statutory instrument in 1998. When this was put to the Minister for Finance, he responded that the severance package was broadly in line with the guidelines that exist for the remuneration of chief executive officers of State agencies. However, those guidelines apply only to early retirements and dismissals; they do not apply to resignations.

I welcome the undertaking to have this matter investigated by the Comptroller and Auditor General because it is clear that what was done by the Tánaiste and the Minister for Finance in this instance was extralegal if not unlawful. Does the Minister of State share our concerns in this regard or does he agree with the Tánaiste and the Minister for Finance that the package given to Mr. Molloy was broadly in line with existing guidelines?

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