Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 64: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if she will make a statement on the report of the Committee of Public Accounts on FÁS. [13358/09]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the report of the Public Accounts Committee on FÁS and commend the Committee for the work carried out in this matter. I note that while the report in general concentrates on the things that went wrong, the Committee is of the view that the good work being done by the employees of FÁS should not be overlooked and that this examination is no reflection on their role and the valuable contribution they make to Irish life. I fully concur with this view.

Many of the issues contained in the report have already been aired in public. I have previously expressed my concerns in respect of various matters raised by internal audit reports in FÁS and subsequently taken up by the C&AG in his earlier report on a number of public bodies. Since the publication of these reports a series of steps have been undertaken to deal with the matters raised. In particular:

FÁS has clarified its procedures and strengthened its internal controls, including in the audit and procurement areas;

FÁS has passed certain issues to the Gardaí for investigation;

A copy of the internal audit report INV 137, which was the basis for the C&AG's report, has been sent to the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement;

The C&AG has commenced a wide-ranging investigation in FÁS, which includes internal controls, governance arrangements, marketing and advertising and specific follow-up of matters raised in the course of hearings of the Committee of Public Accounts;

The Chairman of FÁS, following a request from my Department has provided an undertaking that FÁS is now fully compliant with Department of Finance regulations in relation to Foreign Travel.

The Board of FÁS has stated that whatever additional actions are necessary arising from the Report will be fully implemented. In keeping with standard practice, a formal response to the Public Accounts Committee in relation to this report will be contained in the Minute of the Minister for Finance on the Report of the Committee of Public Accounts on the Fourth Interim Report on Special Report 10 of the Comptroller and Auditor General and FÁS 2007 Accounts. Officials in my Department and FÁS are currently preparing their inputs into the Ministers of Finance's Minute.