The Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mary Coughlan, has again defended her role in approving a severance package for the former director general of Fás, Rody Molloy, who resigned at the height of the controversy over spending at the training authority in 2008.
The Comptroller & Auditor General John Buckley yesterday reported that the package was worth €892,269 more than what a comparable public servant taking early retirement would have been given.
On the other hand, it was worth €76,422 more than the maximum that could be given to an officer such as Mr Molloy whose contract was being terminated, under guidelines on such matters circulated by the Department of Finance in 1998.
Ms Coughlan, speaking to reporters after addressing a conference on corporate governance in Dublin, said Mr Molloy was given the package because “we wanted to move on and it was in the best interest of the organisation that Mr Molloy move... I appreciate that people are annoyed but I worked in the best interests of the organisation.”
She said her judgment, on the basis of the advice given to her, was that it was the best way to deal with the matter. “And of course we did not want to find ourselves in a litigious situation where we would still be discussing this situation in a court context.”
She said she worked within the legislative framework and with the sanction of the Department of Finance when dealing with the matter.
Ms Coughlan said she did not accept that the report, which details expenditure by the authority on foreign travels and entertainment on senior executives and their spouses, including concert and match tickets and lunches where a large percentage of the bill was for alcohol, reflected badly on her.
She said she had acted quickly when she received information.
She also said the latest report would be forwarded to the Attorney General who has been asked to consider if Mr Molloy’s package could be “unpicked”.