Six hours in the chair failed to impress

FÁS managers might have felt in need of the kind of beauty treatment availed of by Mary Harney in Florida as they were left battered and bruised by the end of a marathon six-hour session before the Oireachtas public spending watchdog yesterday.

Yet again, the shambolic system of financial controls within Fás over many years came under the spotlight as further details of spending extravagance by senior executives emerged.

While much of recent media focus has concentrated on the colourful depiction of Mary Harney’s wash and blow dry at a Florida hair and nail salon in July 2004, contributing to a $410 bill picked up by Fás, and ultimately by taxpayers, the public accounts committee yesterday correctly turned their attention to the more serious breaches of financial controls within the organisation.