Former Fás chairman 'at a loss' over rules breaches

PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE:THE FORMER chairman of Fás, Brian Geoghegan, said yesterday he was "as much at a loss as anyone" as to how matters disclosed in a special report on breaches of procurement rules at the State training authority could have occurred.

Mr Geoghegan told the Dáil Public Accounts Committee that it was not the case that the board he chaired approved of staff "straying" from procurement rules in order to get things done.

The committee is inquiring into matters outlined in a special internal audit report on the Fás corporate affairs department and the department's director, Greg Craig.

The committee heard Mr Craig approved contracts without going through proper procedures during a period from 2000 to 2001. These included a €3.55 million one-year contract with a firm, Ultimate Communications, that was established 10 days before the verbal contract was agreed.

A contractor, Deirdre Lynham, was paid €250,000 for a contract in 2002, twice what was paid for the same contract in previous and subsequent years, said Darragh O'Brien TD (FF).

Mr Geoghegan, the former Fás director general, Dr John Lynch, and a former assistant director general, Gerry Pyke, appeared before the committee. Mr Craig declined an invitation to attend.

The committee heard that assistant director general Christy Cooney, who is to take up the role of president of the GAA next year, is to leave his position in Fás today. Mr Cooney had been expected by the committee to be attending it.

Mr Geoghegan, who was chairman of Fás from 2001 to 2005, said the PAC inquiry "may give the answers as to how [what occurred] occurred without the board's knowledge".

He said he had no memory of the issue of foreign travel being discussed at board level. He said he would sign the travel and expenses claims of the former director general, Rody Molloy, but flights were organised through a special travel office in the organisation. He said foreign travel by directors was a matter for themselves.

Mr Molloy resigned recently as a result of a controversy over his travelling first-class to the US on Fás business, as well as other matters arising from the PAC inquiry. Mr Geoghegan said he did not know people were availing of first-class travel. The board would have presumed that the executive management "was applying proper procedure".

Responding to Fine Gael's Pádraic McCormack, he said the board was not "inconsiderate" of the need to ensure value for money from Fás expenditure.

PAC chairman Bernard Allen said hotel rooms costing more than €700 a night were being booked in Florida. He asked for details to be supplied about a trip to South Africa in 2003 during which, according to media reports, the services of a classical pianist were paid for.

Asked by Róisín Shortall if he had concerns, when chairman of Fás, about the culture that existed at the top of the organisation concerning the expenditure of public funds, Mr Geoghegan said: "Honestly, no." Ms Shortall asked if a special pension scheme had been put in place for Dr Lynch when he left his position in Fás in 2001. Dr Lynch said this was not the case.

Dr Lynch, who became chairman of CIÉ when he left Fás, said he received a full pension from Fás but this was deducted from his salary from CIÉ.

Dr Lynch became chairman of Fás in 1990 and subsequently became director general. Ms Shortall said it was her information that an unnamed individual had been told he'd got the director general job at Fás, having gone for interview.

However, then the job was readvertised and Dr Lynch, who had not applied for the job on the first occasion, went forward and got the position.

Dr Lynch said it had been suggested to him that he apply. He was interviewed by a panel of board members chaired by Chris Kirwan, he said. Mr Kirwan subsequently became chairman of Fás.