Tánaiste admits she knew Molloy was keeping car
After weeks of refusing to be drawn on whether she was involved in the decision, Ms Coughlan said she was aware what was happening, but it was a matter for the agency’s board and not part of the severance package signed off on by her and the Finance Department.
“I was aware that the former director general wished to retain the car. I was aware of the situation,” she said under questioning in the Dáil.
The Tánaiste came clean after board member and IMPACT union boss Peter McLoone insisted the body only allowed Mr Molloy to keep the Audi A6 company car, worth some €20,000, because it was negotiated in his severance agreement.
Ms Coughlan’s admission raised as many questions as answers according to Fine Gael enterprise spokesman Leo Varadkar, who demanded the Tánaiste went further and revealed if she approved of the car deal.
“I welcome the Tánaiste’s decision to bring to an end weeks of speculation about whether she knew about Mr Molloy’s company car. But we still don’t know whether she approved of the entire golden handshake, which also included a €1.1m pension deal.
“The Tánaiste must now settle this matter by stating whether she felt that it was appropriate for Mr Molloy to walk away from Fás with a massive pension deal and a company car.
“The public is rightly outraged by the revelations of high-living and wrongdoing within Fás,” he said.
Ms Coughlan’s stonewalling over whether she was aware of the car sweetener or not followed Government embarrassment over whether Mr Molloy had threatened legal action when negotiating his generous settlement package.
The Government’s story changed three times on the matter with the Tánaiste’s department at first saying Mr Molloy did threaten action, the Taoiseach contradicting this and then the Finance Minister Brian Lenihan saying it had been handled as an early retirement settlement.
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