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25/06/2008
Gardaí Launch Investigation Into FÁS Advertising Spend
The Dáil has heard gardaí are investigating an alleged huge misspending of funds by a senior executive within the training and employment agency FÁS.
The anomally was raised in the Daíl this morning by Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny who expressed concern over huge budget afforded to the employment agency, and how it was being spent.
Mr Kenny said: "One particularly expensive agency is FÁS. At a time when unemployment was falling, FÁS was growing so that its budget now is one billion euro. In a recent special report, the C&AG raised serious question about how FÁS spent its nine million budget on advertising and PR.
He said questions are being asked about how €100,000 was spent with one particular local newspaper as part of a €9m advertising campaign.
According to Mr Kenny, the €100,000 ad placement went against FÁS’s normal practice to advertise only in the national media. "When asked why such an unusual commitment was made to a local paper, the documents show a straight conflict of evidence between the senior FÁS official - who claimed it was under direction from the Director General - while the Director General rejects that assertion completely," he said.
During the exchange, the Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, said that, if gardaí are investigating the matter, political involvement would be inappropriate.
(DW)
The anomally was raised in the Daíl this morning by Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny who expressed concern over huge budget afforded to the employment agency, and how it was being spent.
Mr Kenny said: "One particularly expensive agency is FÁS. At a time when unemployment was falling, FÁS was growing so that its budget now is one billion euro. In a recent special report, the C&AG raised serious question about how FÁS spent its nine million budget on advertising and PR.
He said questions are being asked about how €100,000 was spent with one particular local newspaper as part of a €9m advertising campaign.
According to Mr Kenny, the €100,000 ad placement went against FÁS’s normal practice to advertise only in the national media. "When asked why such an unusual commitment was made to a local paper, the documents show a straight conflict of evidence between the senior FÁS official - who claimed it was under direction from the Director General - while the Director General rejects that assertion completely," he said.
During the exchange, the Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, said that, if gardaí are investigating the matter, political involvement would be inappropriate.
(DW)
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