The whole Fásgate controversy continues to rumble on. Despite Brian Cowen giving Rody Molloy (the Director General of FÁS) his support earlier in the week, Mr. Molloy submitted his resignation last night to the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mary Coughlan, after eight years in the top spot at FÁS. The board of FÁS said it accepted Mr Molloy’s resignation with regret.
Senator Shane Ross said on RTÉ television last night that the board of Fás should also resign. He said “If the board knew about this they should resign, if they didnt know about it they should resign”. Are we to expect a mas resignation from the board of Fás? FÁS spending has been the subject of political criticism for some months, but the final straw was revelations by Senator Shane Ross about expenses for senior executives, including €643,000 on transatlantic travel over just four years. Also Mr. Molloy stated that he was entitled to travel First Class, but downgraded to Business Class when his wife was traveling with him.
This morning Fine Gael TD Bernard Allen, who chairs the Public Accounts Committee, said Mr Molloy’s resignation had become inevitable. He told RTÉ Morning Ireland he had hoped to have Mr Molloy before the committee tomorrow to ask him to explain the €5.7m expenditure for 2007.
