Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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This is a difficult position for the taxpayer to be in because FÁS and its agents run many courses throughout the country and the credibility of the courses run by one company has been drawn into serious question. I work from a redacted document released under the Freedom of Information Act 1997. The most important information I need is the name of the company but I do not have that. However, the company involved provided seven courses at a cost of more than €1 million comprising company fees and trainees' allowances. Four of the courses were corrupted because the material results were changed; they were fabricated. The credibility of the awarding of the results goes to the heart of the lack of integrity in FÁS and the rottenness in the system from top to bottom.

The fee paid to the company for the four corrupted courses was in excess of €200,000. The fees paid to the FÁS trainees amount to more than €256,000 and, therefore, the cost of these corrupted courses is almost €500,000. Taxpayers' money was wasted on unfortunate trainees who were conned into thinking they were doing a course. They were not provided with proper materials and did not receive proper results. No audit of the company was conducted, notwithstanding that it had pleaded guilty to FÁS to previously corrupting a course by changing the results. The company said the individual involved had been sacked but it secured a contract for more courses and corrupted the results of those as well.

At the heart of this is an incredible, appalling, disgraceful shame in the running of FÁS. What did the Minister know about this and similar courses? What steps has she taken to recover the money from the company? What other courses was the company retained to provide elsewhere in the country? This case refers only to the north east. Perhaps this happened elsewhere. The integrity of the certification of City & Guilds courses, which are important nationally and internationally, and FETAC courses must be restored. Every FÁS course must be audited from now on. Has the Department conducted other internal audits to establish whether this is an issue throughout the State?

FÁS has a budget of in excess of €1 billion per annum. How much more of taxpayers' money has been wasted? What action has the Minister taken? What briefings has she been given about this issue? More than 440,000 people are unemployed, many of whom will participate in FÁS courses and receive certification. Independent audits need to carried out on the content of these courses, the results awarded and the computers. In the case to which I refer, the computers the trainees were using were clapped out. They had no printers or disks. The trainees were subject to the biggest con in FÁS and probably one of the biggest cons in history resulting in the waste of taxpayers' money.

Fundamental and total reform of FÁS is at the heart of this. Independent accreditation of all examinations is required in order that most of the 440,000 unemployed people who take up the agency's courses can be certain they will get what it says on the tin and they will participate in the course they were supposed to with access to appropriate materials and computers that work. They should not get results that are designed to suit the company and not the taxpayer. Approximately €0.5 million of taxpayers' money has been wasted on a course the results of which were fabricated and with the knowledge that this company was already doing it. FÁS knew it was doing this and yet it gave this company other courses. That is the crime at the heart of this issue.

Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. Even though FÁS will either provide itself or contract with private firms for the training of over 100,000 learners in 2009, it is the Tánaiste's view and, I am sure, the view of all Members of the House that it is crucial we can have full confidence that each one of those learners has received appropriately certified training. We must ensure, therefore, that our system of training and its certification is robust and secure.

We must also ensure that we spend scarce public resources appropriately to ensure we get maximum value for every euro we spend on training, whether it is directly provided by FÁS or contracted out to private firms.

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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They have more courses.

Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I would like to point out that in the specific events in 2006 and 2007 described in the internal audit report-----

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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This is a joke. They still have contracts.

Michael Kennedy (Dublin North, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy, please allow the Minister to continue.

Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I ask the Deputy to let me conclude my remarks and we can consider the matter further.

I would like to point out that in the specific events in 2006 and 2007 described in the internal audit report to which the Deputy has referred, it was FÁS itself that discovered there were issues regarding inappropriate certification of training provided in the north east by this private firm. FÁS ensured that a comprehensive audit was undertaken into these activities and this was completed in February 2009. This audit concluded that, in regard to four contracts in the north east and Dublin North, assessment material had been manipulated and that the certification process had been undermined. To maintain the integrity of the training provided and ensure that trainees were not prejudiced by the actions of this private firm, where necessary, FÁS had the relevant trainees retrained and re-assessed and the certifying bodies were satisfied to issue the appropriate certifications.

The Tánaiste understands from FÁS that in respect of one of the courses the private firm paid for the retraining but in respect of another of the courses, the cost of retraining has to date been borne by FÁS. The Tánaiste has instructed her Department to ask FÁS to consider to what extent it can recover from the private firm the cost of this retraining and recertifying the trainees.

The Tánaiste also understands from FÁS that while the internal audit was under way and the report was being prepared, existing contracts between FÁS and this private firm were not terminated as FÁS believed it did not yet have a legal basis to do so. The last training course provided by this firm to FÁS finished on 10 April 2009. The firm does not currently have any training contracts with FÁS.

The Tánaiste believes it important to tell the House that FÁS has identified a number of other current potential certification issues in the north-east region in respect of other courses. Certificates have not issued pending a review of the relevant assessments, which is currently under way. FÁS has indicated that it will undertake a review of all current contracted training courses to ensure they are fully compliant. It will also implement a plan that it has developed to improve its capabilities in assessing, certifying and quality assuring our training interventions. In addition, FÁS is finalising a new form of contract which will be utilised for all future training contracts and will have strengthened clauses on specific performance and sanctions regarding any non-compliance which emerges.

The Tánaiste has instructed her Department to write to the director general of FÁS to seek clarification as to why, in the light of the private firm's acceptance in April 2007 that assessment material had been manipulated on one contract, FÁS and the private firm did not ensure that the same thing did not occur on subsequent contracts; whether FÁS can recover from the private firm the cost of retraining and recertifying the trainees; whether FÁS intends to establish if there is a basis for seeking to have this firm removed from the FÁS-EI National Register of Trainers; and the other action FÁS is taking to ensure that events of this nature cannot recur. FÁS has advised that the integrity of FÁS training products, processes and quality will be a central element in the new corporate strategy and plan for the organisation.

Continued confidence in our system of training and its certification is paramount and it is essential that FÁS has robust procedures in place. In this case the internal audit procedure within the organisation worked well in identifying and addressing a problem case.