TÁNAISTE Mary Coughlan has admitted a statement supporting the board of Fás was drawn up within her department in the wake of damning findings on the agency by the Comptroller and Auditor General.

The Dáil’s public spending watchdog tonight called for a review of top-up payments to outgoing chiefs of state bodies.

FORMER Fás boss Rody Molloy refused to accept the findings of an internal audit report on overspending in 2007, complaining to the board of the agency that the investigation did not show “courtesy” to senior management.

TÁNAISTE Mary Coughlan has denied she was overruled by the Taoiseach on a decision to publicly express confidence in the Fás board following a recent report on the state agency by the spending watchdog, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).

THE coming few weeks could be very interesting politically. John Gormley has said that the Green Party will withdraw from government if the party’s rank and file do not approve a new programme for government by a two-thirds majority. That could prove particularly problematical, but then maybe he can secure some astonishing concessions from Fianna Fáil in the current circumstances.

THE two Green Party ministers did not know of former Fás director general Rody Molloy’s massive redundancy package, party leader John Gormley said yesterday.

THE “fragmented” board of Fás is expected to resign next Thursday amid accusations of neglect in the oversight of excessive spending at the state training agency.

Fás officials can only travel executive class on airlines when absolutely necessary for business purposes under the official policy of the state employment agency, it emerged yesterday.