While I concur with ORA, if the contract allows the employee to travel via first class (as in to say that it is a visible perk of the job) then I don't take issue with that individual downgrading to enable a second person to travel if the overall cost is less or equal to the amount they would be entitled to under their contract.
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I think the practice would be to downgrade a business class seat to two economy seats. Very few businesses pay for first class seats & certainly not a state company whose primary remit is to train unemployed people.Originally Posted by soccerc
When they played the golf and went to the health spa does anyone know if they were only there themselves or were they entertaining their contacts?
Training for the unemployed is only part of their remit.
If you attack me with stupidity, I'll be forced to defend myself with sarcasm.
If Mary Harney spent even some of the $400 on beauty treatment she should ask for her money back
Two points:
1) No airlines that fly from Ireland offer First Class (that I'm aware of anyway)
2) He was the Head of FAS and was ultimately responsible for the travel policy and permitting First Class travel is inappropriate when the vast majority of companies in Ireland don't permit it
It was actually only $200, but she needed two chairs.If Mary Harney spent even some of the $400 on beauty treatment she should ask for her money back
Did you ever notice that in every painting of Adam & Eve, they have belly buttons. Think about that...take as long as you want.
IndeedIf Mary Harney spent even some of the $400 on beauty treatment she should ask for her money back(Are we sure it wasn't her lunch bill ?)
Out for a spell, got neglected, lay on the bench unselected.
TheI think we're arguing over a very small point. If, when he was hired to the position, he was told he would have the powers to set such a policy then surely his implementing such a policy would enable him to downgrade for two lower priced business class seats.
The point may well be moot if you're right about there being no first class seats out of Ireland, I genuinely haven't a clue in that regard, but the real issue I'm trying to get to is whether this was misuse of power, abuse of power, or over reactions. I would lean towards the first of those options largely.
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This looks one of those slow burner stories as more info is drip feed. Will be interesting to see Molloy comes to the PAC without court order.
Apparently FAS cancelled the first class seats as they got "a lift" on the government jet. Of course these were fully refundable tickets whch they received a rebate or credit not but apparently they still showing as an expense on the FAS accounts. Where did the 40k refund go?
sweet mother!!!if business class was good enough for him when he was with his wife,why did he not travel this class all the time....according to todays paper's a new toyota has now gone missing..they should try under the compost heap in fas....heard it huge from all the flowers they bought
Was it blue?
Last seen outside Vicar Street
http://pix.ie/widgets/generate/accou...000-F5F5FF.jpg
"It's time for the FAI to grow up." John O'Donoghue, Minister for Sport, RTE , Sunday 7 Nov 2004
Molloy at PAC
Former Fás director general Rody Molloy has apologised to the Dáil Public Accounts Committee (PAC) for failing to appear before it last week, saying "no disrespect was intended".
Mr Molloy, who stepped down last week after revelations that Fás officials spent €643,000 over four years on transatlantic travel, is due to answer questions about expenditure at the state agency.
PAC chairman Bernard Allen last week attacked Mr Molloy for failing to appear before the inquiry, claiming it was unacceptable for highly paid public servants to think they could "ride away into the sunset".
Mr Molloy apologised today, explaining that he had fail to show up because he had resigned and was no longer accounting officer at Fás. He added that he believed he had not been invited to attend.
Mr Molloy said he knew his position at Fás was untenable after his "ill-judged" interview with RTÉ's Pat Kenny in which he defended spending by Fás executives and being "entitled" to first class travel to the US.
The following days were "traumatic" and his home was "besieged" by certain elements of the media, he said today.
FAS spent 100k on Croke Park entertainment
I would there is more to follow on this as clearly lavish spending not just for foreign trips.FÁS SPENT in excess of €100,000 on matches, concerts and associated entertainment in Croke Park over the past two years.
The State training authority spent in excess of €40,000 on four 10-year premium seat tickets at the stadium that give access to all GAA matches up to and including All-Ireland finals.
At a hearing of the Dáil Public Accounts Committee on December 4th, Mr Molloy said assistant director general Christy Cooney had no role in the decision to move the event to Croke Park.
"I make it clear that the decision to move to Croke Park from the RDS did not involve Mr Cooney," he said. "It was a decision that I took, or I initiated the change."
Mr Cooney is president elect of the GAA, having won the vote on the position earlier this year.
Apparently FAS moving the job fair was nothing to do with FAS senior executive Christy Cooney being a senior GAA official and running for President. It was because....wait for it...concerns that the Merrion Rd outside the RDS was too dangerous for job fair attendees to cross.
Priceless.
Any sign of that missing Toyota?
Apparently those FAS Job Fairs at Croke the single biggest expense on FAS books.
The FAS Annual 2 Day Board Meeting (as distinct from the monthly Meeting) was held at Mount Juliet
Do the FAS Board think their remit is support sports bodies throughout the country?Despite two separate ongoing Garda investigations into the irregular use of Fás funds and a complete investigation of all spending ordered by enterprise minister Mary Coughlan, the Fás board chose the four-star estate to host what it said was an "ordinary board meeting and annual strategic review".
Rooms in Mount Juliet cost over €400 a night.
Meanwhile, Fás confirmed that its director of corporate affairs, Greg Craig, whose handling of a €10m advertising and PR budget sparked the first investigation into Fás spending, is still on sick leave.
They also moved the Cork fair from the city centre to a suburban GAA club. Dangerous roads in Cork too.
It took the Brit paper the Mail to go after the GAA angle to the story, which they did several weeks ago. The GAA are the last great untouchable in Ireland - the Irish media are scared to say boo to them...
If you attack me with stupidity, I'll be forced to defend myself with sarcasm.
Nemo Rangers supposed to have very good facilities but not exactly the most accessible location. In Dublin terms it would be like having in Tolka Park.They also moved the Cork fair from the city centre to a suburban GAA club. Dangerous roads in Cork too.
http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0219/fas.pdf
Anybody wondering why the this country has a chaotic banana republic approach to corporate governance need look no further that the Public Accounts Committee Report on FAS, issued today.
Firstly, the PAC is restricted from "...the direct attribution of personal blame.." arising from a Supreme Court decision concerning events at Abbeylara. I presume this statement is true but why any responsible government would allow this restriction to remain in place for over 7 years is stunning. This is either complete governmment ineptitude or a complete lack of interest in creating an accountability based system
Secondly, the 5 findings in the executive summary are damning and as they are written in legal friendly "corporate speak" presumably mask the true findings. Maddeningly, the PAC go on to say that "..the key accountability issues are to establish...weaknesses in systems....". This is a cop out - individuals allowed this to happen - individuals wasted money - individuals failed in their jobs and in their duties and hiding behind "system weaknesses" allows those individuals to evade true accountability.
Let's call a spade a spade - people in FAS were cavalier with public money at best - there may be fraud and other illegality
Thirdly, the PAC's first recommendation is that "All staff involved in procurement...should be familiar with the risks that arise when...guidelines are ignored". No; - staff involved in procurement should be aware that there are serious personal individual consequences for treating public money with the contempt hinted by this report. The substantive other recommendation is that the Comptroller and Auditor Generals Office should investigate the area of foreign travel - so what precisely was the PAC doing ?
Pathetic cop out - the constant focus on systems and procedures again is deliberate becasue they do not have the cojones to say "Mick was derelict in his duty" (notwithstanding the legal issue above)
This creation of multiple layers of review, audit, waiting for Mick or Joe to report is deliberate - it is why the tribunals take so long i.e. after the next election - it is why the stardust families only hear an answer 25 years after the tragedy - I don't care if Cowen knows the 10 Anglo names, I am sure he does but I care about the fact that he and successive governments do not care about creating an accountability based body politic.
Finally, there is a tantalising statement in Appendix 3 - apparently "The Chairman received an anonymous letter from the office of the Minister for Enterprise...in October 2004" Why the Minister for Enterprise is sending anybody anonymous letters, let alone making it clear that they have been sent from his office remains unanswered.
Corruption will always be with us, it always has and it always will - but what we desperately need is a zero tolerance attitude to this stuff - create a robust set of legislative provisions and ruthlessy go after people who are cavalier and who treat your money with distain.
Charlatans - total charlatans
DB Cooper is alive !
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