Molloy 'didn't like flying'

The former head of FÁS who walked out amid a scandal of lavish expenses run up through first class travel today claimed he did not like flying.

The embattled ex-boss resigned last week after revelations that senior FÁS officials spent €643,000 over four years on transatlantic travel, as well as clocking up lavish expenses on beauty care, golf and dinners.

At the Dáil Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Labour’s Roisin Shorthall launched a stinging attack on Mr Molloy, claiming he had clocked up 16 trips in three and a half years.

But the former director general hit back claiming he was promoting the agency’s work and did not like flying.

“In truth, people in the organisation who know me, know that it is difficult to get me to travel,” he said.

“I do have a problem with travelling. I do have a problem with flying.”

Ms Shorthall asked how he could have done his job when he was away from Ireland so often. The trips took in cities as diverse as Orlando, Helsinki, Boston and New York.

“To say the least you’re out of the office an awful lot,” Ms Shorthall said. A former assistant director Gerry Pyke also took 13 major trips in four years, she said.

FÁS chairman Peter McLoone said the Board had not looked over expense claims.

“Those kind of standards in a public body were just not acceptable,” Ms Shorthall said.

Ms Shorthall said both Mr Molloy and Mr Pyke had clocked up massive bills at the taxpayers’ expense and that neither had been around to keep a check on the body’s former director of corporate affairs, Greg Craig. Mr Craig is at the centre of the PAC spending inquiry over his handling of a multi-million euro advertising budget.

He has been suspended on full pay by FÁS. In a letter to PAC he said he has been told by the state body not to talk about his suspension, which he claimed he intends challenging.

Earlier Mr Molloy admitted that travelling first class at the agency’s expense was wrong and it should not have happened. In his first public statement since his dramatic walk-out, Mr Molloy claimed he made mistakes in office but believed the luxury flights had been sanctioned.

"I made some mistakes,” Mr Molloy said. “In relation to foreign travel I understood that the class of travel was in order and in line with public service guidelines,”

“I now accept in hindsight that it was not appropriate, particularly for an organisation charged with helping many people who are underprivileged and should not have happened.”

During his brief opening statement to PAC, Mr Molloy said his position as FÁS director general had become untenable and claimed that a defensive interview he gave to RTÉ was ill-judged.

After revelations of lavish foreign trips and massive expenses by senior FÁS executives were exposed, Mr Molloy forcefully defended the spending on radio, claiming he was entitled to travel first class.

“The final straw came with my ill-judged interview with the RTÉ (Pat) Kenny show,” he said. “I knew after that interview that my position was no longer tenable.”

Mr McLoone, who was appointed chairman of the FÁS Board in 2006, said the lavish spending on travel was not right and he could not defend it.

“The kind of spend for an organisation like this is inappropriate, unacceptable, and it’s not something that I’m in a position to defend,” he said.

He insisted the matters were of legitimate political and public concern and said the Board would take responsibility for what has happened.

Department of Finance official David Hurley told the committee the Government did not sanction first class flying.

Fine Gael deputy Jim O’Keeffe pointed out a litany of trips taken by FÁS officials, including two trips in January 2005 totalling over €5,000 and a group trip the following year for €33,000.

He also questioned why FÁS had spent €1.5m on land in Birr, Co Offaly for a new office as part of the decentralisation scheme which had not happened.

Mr Molloy said it was bought at the Government’s request because they were pushing the decentralisation programme.

Mr O’Keeffe claimed there was a “free for all in the acquisition of property and new offices” in the state body, branding the waste of taxpayers’ money “squandermania”.

His party colleague Padraic McCormack asked if Board members should consider their position given the level of wasteful spending that had been exposed.

Mr McLoone said the Board had been managing the fall-out from the inquiry into spending at the beleaguered agency and had not yet discussed the matter.

“The Board hasn’t sat down to address its future,” Mr McLoone said.

Labour TD Tommy Broughan said 14 FÁS officials had been suspended since 2004.

The reasons ranged from misappropriation of funds, misconduct, misappropriation of materials and misuse of IT materials.

Earlier Mr Molloy apologised to the committee for not appearing last week claiming he did not think it was appropriate as he had resigned.

He said the days after his resignation had been traumatic for him and his family.

In a separate development, Tánaiste Mary Coughlan announced tonight that former senior civil servant Eddie Sullivan will take over the post of director- general at FÁS on an interim basis.

Mr Sullivan is a former secretary-general at the Department of Finance.