Shane Ross (Independent)

Instead of that the Minister has said "Good lads, I see you are not going to let it happen again; I am pretty pleased with what you are doing, so off you go." There are at least two members of that board — I do not want to be in any way vindictive — who are deeply compromised and have a lot of explaining to do about their travel. Did the Minister ask them about that or did she just say, as is the normal political reaction, that the Government should let them go, protect them and hope for the best?

These boards are fundamentally flawed. Their members, who are all politically appointed, have a particular agenda. If they do any work at all, they are well paid — salaries last year on the board of FÁS were €14,000 for each member and €25,000 for the chairman, and they probably gave themselves an increase this year. The board is dominated by four trade union representatives and four employers' representatives. I would have thought that people who have risen to the top of trade unions such as ICTU and IBEC, most of the latter of whom have not done a day's work in industry in their lives as they have always been involved with IBEC, would be capable of examining practices at the top, taking a forensic look at what was going on and asking the right questions. However, it is perfectly obvious they were not doing that. It is obvious that these guys were sitting at the top doing one piece of work a month and taking their salaries. They ought to have been dismissed. They ought to have been asked to fall on their swords because they are responsible for this extravagance. They are responsible for overseeing expenditure and they did not do so.

It should also be pointed out that the chairman of the board rotates. One session it is IBEC — I do not know how long it is for — and the next session it is ICTU. What is going on? Why in the name of God should the social partners be in charge of a State agency?