Vol. 397 No. 5
17 Mr. T. O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Labour whether he has been consulted or advised in relation to reports about financial discrepancies in FÁS; the action he has taken in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The reported discrepancies arose in the period 1982-87 in relation to AnCO operations before FÁS were established. The financial control system has been tightened up and the system of internal audit intensified. Both systems are under constant review and outside consultants have recently been engaged to advise on the effectiveness of the internal audit system. I am satisfied that the necessary steps have been taken to ensure adequate control systems and shall keep these arrangements under general review.
The investigation of individual discrepancies is a day to day matter for FÁS.
Would the Minister be prepared to say how much money was involved in these irregularities?
There were two cases involved: one was the subject of a court case and charges were made. That case has been fairly well publicised and the figure was £72,000. In the second case, the individual has since resigned and is under investigation by internal and external auditors. It will take some time before the full processes of the investigation are completed and we will know whether FÁS will bring charges.
Is the Minister prepared to substitute the report in the Irish Independent on Tuesday, 20 March, where a figure of £85,000 was mentioned? Would the nature of the discrepancy be in the region of £85,000 as reported in the Irish Independent?
The difficulty I have, Deputy, is that I am not sure which case they were speculating about; the amount involved in the case that went to court recently was £72,000, and I have no figure for the amount involved in the second case. I do not think that figure has been calculated yet.
A spokesman for FÁS said there were irregularities. Is the Minister prepared to say in which departments they occurred, the nature of the business and the number of firms involved?
Both incidents of fraud were in the purchasing department.
Is the Minister prepared to quantify the amount involved?
I will repeat——
That is a luxury we cannot afford at Question Time especially during Priority Questions.
The first case involved a sum of £72,000. In the second case the internal and external auditors are investigating and no figure is yet known.
