Fás hired a pianist for Harney in luxury hotel suite

HEALTH Minister Mary Harney became further embroiled in the Fás expenses controversy last night after it emerged that the agency hired a pianist to play in her luxury hotel suite during a trip to South Africa.

Ms Harney faced calls for her resignation last week after she admitted to being partially responsible for a $410 (€320) beauty salon bill charged to a Fás credit card during a trip to Florida in the US in 2004.

Ms Harney insisted her portion of the bill had been incurred for legitimate “wash and blow-dries” in preparation for official engagements, and rejected any suggestion of wrongdoing.

Yesterday, it was reported that during a previous trip to South Africa in 2000, Fás had hired a pianist for Ms Harney’s luxury hotel suite in the five-star Table Bay Hotel in Cape Town.

The Irish Mail on Sunday reported that Ms Harney held a reception in the suite, which boasted its own piano, and the pianist was hired for the purpose.

A spokesman for Ms Harney said the event was an official reception attended by members of both the Irish and wider business communities in Cape Town.

“As would be normal for such events, all the arrangements and organisation for this reception would have been the responsibility of Fás,” the spokesman was quoted as saying. “The official costs associated with the [then] Tánaiste’s visit were the responsibility of Fás, in line with established procedures.”

Fine Gael, which claimed last week that Ms Harney’s position was untenable, given both her involvement in the Fás controversy and her handling of the health portfolio, said the expenses issue illustrated “far deeper problems” in the public service.

Deputy leader, Richard Bruton, said the question on many people’s minds was how many other state agencies had behaved like Fás.

“The truth is this Government is years behind its developed world counterparts in the way it allocates money and afterwards accounts for how that money was spent.

“Its agencies and senior managers are not tied to clear targets and performance measures as happens elsewhere,” said Mr Bruton.

He called for “radical change” to root out such problems in the public service.

Tánaiste and Enterprise Minister Mary Coughlan is set to brief the cabinet on the Fás issue tomorrow.

The Dáil public accounts committee, which monitors public spending, will continue its investigation of the agency on Thursday.