Number of managers at Fás rose 70% in time of full employment

By Shaun Connolly, Political Correspondent

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

FÁS was embroiled in fresh controversy last night as it emerged the number of its managers shot up by 70% during a time of largely full employment.

The state training agency saw the pay bill for the managers rocket by 77% to €24m per year during the decade.

The figures, released to Fine Gael TD George Lee via parliamentary answers show the bulk of the increase took place while Mary Harney was in charge of the Enterprise and Employment Department.

"In 1997, Fás had one manager for every 11 members of non-management staff. But by 2008 there was one manager for every 6.8 non-management staff. Why did Fás need to expand its management team by 71%, when its non-management workforce increased by just 7.5%? There was clearly less work to be done, and many Irish companies were recruiting staff from abroad because they couldn’t find staff within Ireland.

"There has been a massive increase in Fás management numbers, and a massive increase in the pay bill, with the average salary for Fás management grades 84% higher than for non-management grades. Fás sucked up billions of euros of taxpayers’ money during the boom," Mr Lee said.

"Yet it seems unable to provide the levels of retraining and upskilling that Ireland so urgently needs in this appalling recession," he said.

In a statement last night, Fás said that during the 10- year period referred to by Mr Lee, 75% of the rise in management grades was due to a one-step increase from a senior staff grade to assistant manager, as part of a major restructuring.

It said Fás management grades make up 12.8% of total staff. It added that the cost "must be seen in the context of the very wide responsibilities of the organisation".

It said these responsibilities include oversight of over 1,300 community schemes, the operation of 70 employment services offices, providing over 120,000 training opportunities to unemployed people, providing training and other services to 22,000 apprentices, and supporting a wide range of other services to disadvantaged people in our society.

It said: "By the end of 2009, our management grades will have reduced by over 10% overall and by 20% in our senior management grades from their peak."

This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Tuesday, November 17, 2009