Molloy was not pressured to resign, insists Taoiseach

FORMER Fás boss Rody Molloy was not pushed by the Government to resign from his €203,000 a year position, Taoiseach Brian Cowen insisted.

During a staunch defence of Mr Molloy in the Dáil, Brian Cowen described him as “honourable” on five occasions and said he was subject to “an avalanche of abuse” on a personal level over revelations of excessive spending by agency executives on foreign travel.

Mr Molloy resigned from the state training agency on Tuesday night after causing public outrage by his apparent arrogance over the massive expense bill he and other senior executives claimed on trips to the United States.