I thank members of the committee for their invitation to attend here today and for the opportunity to make an opening statement to the committee.
I am the chairman of the board of FÁS, which consists of a chairperson and 16 ordinary directors. Board members are appointed by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
The board's primary role is in policy making. The role of the chief executive officer — in FÁS's case this is the director general — is to implement this policy and to carry on, manage and control the administration and business of FÁS. The director general is assisted in this task by seven assistant director generals.
The current board, which was appointed in January 2006, will take responsibility and be fully accountable for the governance of the organisation since 2006 and in addition will take responsibility for our handling of past shortcomings that have come to light during our term of office even if we were not responsible for the shortcomings.
I will be upfront about why I am here today. In the past there has been poor management of some FÁS resources and in some instances there has been unacceptable waste of those precious resources. The vast bulk of the wasteful practices that have emerged were confined to one section of the FÁS organisation — corporate affairs — and, as members have heard at previous hearings, the management of FÁS took steps to uncover and end those practices.
The practices initially emerged through our internal audit process and subsequently emerged publicly in media reporting and commentary on those internal audit reports — and other material that came into the public domain — subsequent to the publication of the Comptroller and Auditor General's special report No. 10. All these revelations are the subject of legitimate and serious political and public concern, and are matters that are also of great concern to the board and management of FÁS.
As chairman of FÁS I acknowledge the anger and in some cases the hurt that this has caused among those who use, deliver and pay for the crucial services that FÁS provides. Above all, I stress to those who use, deliver and pay for FÁS services that, while such waste took place and was unacceptable, this is not typical of the general approach of the overwhelming majority of those involved in FÁS. It is not and has not been a feature of the vast majority of FÁS activity and expenditure, and we have taken measures to ensure that it does not happen again.
I firmly believe that once completed, the current internal audit investigations and the Comptroller and Auditor General's review, which is to follow these proceedings, will bear this out and will agree that the typical attitude of FÁS — its board, executive and staff — is one of hard work, diligence, good governance and above all respect for those who use and pay for the services we provide.
I refer to a number of matters in the public domain and the board's ongoing engagement with these matters. With regard to the INV. 137 investigation into corporate affairs, members of the committee will recall that it commenced in 2004. In July and September 2005, the FÁS board at that time was kept advised with regard to the progress of this investigation. When the current board was appointed in January 2006 it too engaged directly with this investigation and with a range of other matters through the work of the board's audit committee. Last week my colleague, Mr. Niall Saul, who is the chair of this audit committee, outlined to the committee the very detailed processes and time lines relating to this investigation and confirmed that this report was placed before the full board of FÁS in December 2007.
The content of the INV. 137 investigation report into corporate affairs continues to be the subject of the ongoing public discourse surrounding FÁS. It is important that past practices be examined so that lessons may be learned, but it is also important that past practices be examined so that we can establish precisely what was wrong, who is responsible and that we hold those responsible to account. It is important to note that by the time this report was published and became the subject of public controversy, the board of FÁS had already taken action on foot of the findings.
By March 2008 this board had overseen the introduction of sufficient controls into corporate affairs to ensure that there could be no repetition of those events. However, in the latter part of this year, as the details of past events became public, it quickly became evident that public confidence in FÁS was rapidly evaporating, that staff morale was being seriously undermined and that the ability of the organisation to keep focused on the needs of the ever-increasing numbers of unemployed people was seriously jeopardised.
This was why, with the full support of the board, the former director general and I met separately with the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment in September of this year to get agreement to send an external person into FÁS quickly to undertake a comprehensive review of FÁS and its management practices. I considered that this would allow FÁS to get on with its core business and, to some degree, begin the process of raising staff morale and restoring public confidence in the organisation, while at the same time getting to the root of the problems the Committee of Public Accounts was examining. The Tánaiste subsequently said in a public statement that she had asked the Comptroller and Auditor General to undertake such an investigation. However, we understand this will not happen until the committee has completed its hearings.
The earliest possible commencement of the Comptroller and Auditor General's inquiries is vital to enable FÁS to move forward. He will be able to examine every document at FÁS headquarters and will be in a position to talk to every member of the management of FÁS and anybody else who has relevant and helpful information. On that basis, he will be able to produce a full report and issue recommendations which will be available publicly. Most importantly, his report will be available to the committee to assist it in the comprehensive completion of its exhaustive deliberations. At that point we will be ready to return to continue this process with the committee. With the indulgence of the Chairman, I emphasise how important it is for the future of FÁS that the Comptroller and Auditor General be allowed to begin his external examination quickly. His report will give the committee fuller information than is currently available to it, thereby facilitating its proceedings and the completion of its work.
The commencement of the Comptroller and Auditor General's inquiry will allow FÁS to concentrate on its role, which is to train and upskill workers when they lose their jobs in these difficult economic times. It may lead to a further full discussion at this forum on the lessons that must be learned. It will allow the management of FÁS — a new director general is due to be appointed in the coming period — to drive the organisation forward and implement the change programme that is deemed necessary. All of us in this room share that objective. Last week the board authorised the FÁS audit committee to strengthen the internal audit functions within the organisation. It approved the use of external support and specialist assistance, as required, to accelerate the audit work under way in the corporate affairs area. All of this information will be placed at the disposal of the Comptroller and Auditor General when he commences his examination.
With the permission of the Chairman, I will conclude by speaking about the staff and clients of FÁS. It has been the board's experience — it is certainly the experience of many individuals, businesses and communities throughout the country — that FÁS performs sterling work on the ground. Its staff need to be offered the leadership, direction and management practices they deserve. Like the rest of the board, I am determined to make this happen as soon as possible. This will provide the platform for FÁS to develop and deliver a range of programmes and services to meet the needs of a diverse range of clients who find themselves in difficult circumstances due to the economic downturn.
I thank the Chairman for allowing me to make an opening statement. If the committee would like me to deal with any questions or points of clarification, I will assist it in any way I can.
