Fás board given 'clear direction' by Cabinet to stay on

THE BOARD of Fás was twice told by the Government earlier this year to stay on and clear up “the mess” it had found itself in…

THE BOARD of Fás was twice told by the Government earlier this year to stay on and clear up “the mess” it had found itself in, its chairman Peter McLoone said yesterday.

He said the board got a “clear direction” from “the Minister” and “the Government” to stay on in February after a damning report from the Dáil Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Fás expenditure was published. That report was highly critical of the agency’s inappropriate spending on first-class flights and luxury travel.

Again in June, after Fás appointed a new director general, it was told by the Government to continue doing its job, said Mr McLoone, who was on RTÉ's This Weekprogramme yesterday. It was not, he added, until late last week that the board became aware the Government's position had changed.

On Thursday, the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Mary Coughlan said she would accept the resignations of Fás board members if they were offered in the wake of another report, this time from the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), on expenditure controls at the national employment and training agency. On Friday, Minister for the Environment John Gormley said the Fás board should resign after the CAG’s report found there was little or no response from the executive board to large and repeated overspending on advertising during 2002-2008.

READ MORE

Taoiseach Brian Cowen also said yesterday that new legislation would be brought forward as a matter of priority, changing how the board was formed and making sure there were ministerial powers to appoint a new board.

Mr McLoone acknowledged yesterday the writing was now on the wall in light of these most recent comments. Having spoken to some board members over recent days, he was satisfied when the board next met it would decide it should step down and co-operate with an orderly transition. He was not clear when legislation around the appointment of a new board would be ready, adding that he had not spoken to the Taoiseach, Tánaiste or Minister for the Environment since their comments were made.

Mr McLoone added: “The board at all times has wanted to avoid being embroiled in controversy and unfortunately, over the last 24 to 48 hours, that is what has happened and we want to avoid heaping further problems on the Fás organisation.”

It was very important that any board, including this one, would function in circumstances where it had the clear, unequivocal support of the political system. “We had understood that that was what Government wanted. That seems to have modified over the last 24- 48 hours,” he said.

He stressed that while the PAC report in February stopped short of seeking the resignation of the board of Fás, he and members of the board “went to the Government and asked for clear direction as to what we were to do next. The message that we got was very clear. The Government said ‘you’re to continue, you’re to prioritise the implementation of the recommendations of the PAC . . . you’re to co-operate fully with the CAG in respect of the additional work that the PAC has asked them to carry out, you’re to deal with the legacy issues that have been there since 2000, you’re to clear up the mess and you’re also to go ahead and appoint a new director general’ and we did all that . . .

“In June, when the new director general was appointed, we again went back to the Government for confirmation that we were to continue and that was given.”

Mr McLoone stressed that even if the current board of Fás left office tomorrow, there was a considerable “mess” to be cleared up. He said more still had to come to light as the CAG was working on another report on Fás expenditure on travel which was due out in December or January.

He added that when his board took over in 2006, it was “a complete mess” as there were legacy issues going back to 2000. His board dealt with everything brought before it. “A board can only deal with matters that are brought before it,” he said.

He confirmed, though, that he had travelled first-class to Florida with Fás, at a cost of more than €7,000, and had not questioned it. “I’ve accepted that, in hindsight, that should have triggered alarm bells and it didn’t.”


Fás board: 16 current members

CHAIRMAN


Peter McLoone General secretary of Impact trade union and chairman of Ictu's Public Services Committee

TRADE UNION REPRESENTATIVES

Des Geraghty President of Siptu 1994 to 2002

Owen Wills General secretary of the Technical, Engineering Electrical Union. Also member of the executive council of Ictu

Alice Prendergast Former president of Teachers' Union of Ireland

Sally Anne Kinahan Assistant general secretary of Ictu since 2003

EMPLOYER REPRESENTATIVES

Niall Saul Former group head of HR at Irish Life and Permanent for 10 years. Previously HR director at Waterford Crystal

Jenny Hayes: head of management and training, Ibec

Brian Keogh: Director, John Sisk Co, construction contractors

GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT REPRESENTATIVES


Deirdre Shanley Rep of Minister for Social and Family Affairs – Principal officer at the department in the employment support services division

Anne Forde Rep of Minister  for Education and Science – Principal officer in the higher education sector at the department.

Dermot Nolan Rep of Minister for Finance – On leave from position as principal officer in the sectoral policy division of the department.

Dermot Mulligan Rep of Minister for Education, Trade and Employment – Assistant secretary at the department.

EMPLOYEE REPRESENTATIVES

Frank Walsh Fás employee, Dublin: manager in the Services to Business division

Margaret Mernagh Tralee employer services officer

YOUTH REPRESENTATIVE

James O'Leary Former president of the National Youth Council of Ireland. Currently CEO of the National Association of Travellers Centres

Caroline Casey Rep of Minister for Education, Trade and Employment – Founder of Kanchi, formerly the Aisling Foundation. A former management consultant, Ms Casey has a visual impairment and is registered as legally blind