World travel, golf and beauty salons for FAS chiefs
FAS, the State jobs agency with the €20m-a-week budget, has spent a huge amount of taxpayers’ money on round-the-world business class travel for top executives and their wives, luxury hotels in the US, gifts and other entertainment.
A Sunday Independent investigation found that Fas staff have enjoyed top-of-the- range limousines and chauffeurs, gourmet meals and golf games in sunny Florida.
In just four years, Fas has spent €643,000 on transatlantic travel for chief executive Rody Molloy, his wife, top staff and guests. Fas says it was promoting the Fas Science Challenge Intern Programme.
Gifts for a Government minister were included in expenditure. Corporate Affairs director Greg Craig, now on sick leave, carried a company credit card with a limit of €76,000.
Last December the troubled agency, currently the target of two inquiries, paid €12,071 for two business-class round-the-world tickets for a departing official to attend a skills event. Stopovers included Tokyo, Honolulu and San Francisco.
Fas chairman, trade union boss Peter McLoone, accompanied chief executive Rody Molloy on a €7,300-a-head return business class flight to Orlando for a week-long stay.
On another trip, Mr Molloy charged the State agency $942 for a game of golf in the Grand Cypress Resort Golf club. In a further display of affluence, after a €200-a-head dinner at Dublin’s Merrion Hotel, the jobs agency’s bosses gave hotel staff a €908 tip.
Last night, a spokesman for Fas responded that the US programme had cost €6.645m. Of that, about €600,000 was spent on travel, €1.2m on accommodation — mostly for students — and €170,000 on transportation.
Asked why Mr Molloy often brought his wife, the spokesman said: “It is my understanding that she was invited and it is the appropriate protocol for her to go.”
Martin
Good morning Senator Shane Ross.
I felt I needed to congratulate you on your brilliant work in exposing Rody Molloy and the FAS upper crust. I am an employer in the metal fabrication sector and I take on a new apprentice every year. Mention me in the metal fab section of FAS and they will now of me or heard of me. I represented Ireland in 99 and have since been heavily involved in the training of my apprentices.It would be fair to say that I am very pasionate about it actually. The metal fabrication section is a disaster and I confronted Mr Rody Molloy at a conference in Rochestown Park Hotel, at which John Bowman chaired last year and I spoke my mind, however Mr Molloy didn’t like this one bit and he suggested I source better apprentices …….. Yes, source better apprentices. I didn’t tell him that in the next room one of my apprentices was recieving a medal from the minister for representing Ireland in his trade in Japan early that year.(Japan, now that’s another story).The quality and standards in these trades needs to be lifted out of the dirt and we should be seeking excellence not sub standard in each industry. It was sickening to be part of that conference.Everybody needs to wake up and look for a better Ireland. I hope the powers that be will put somebody in that job who wants and needs to succeed. Thanks again and congratulations on your great work. I hope you will always have the fire in you to question.
Travel
Great Job.