Tánaiste Publishes Legislation to Reform Governance of FÁS

The Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Ms. Mary Coughlan, T.D., today (Tuesday, 6 October 2009) published the Labour Services (Amendment) Bill 2009.

The Bill, which amends the legislation governing FÁS, provides for a stronger governance and accountability structure at the State’s employment and training agency and, specifically, provides for:

• a reduction in the size of the Board of FÁS from seventeen to eleven;

• introduction of a rolling system of appointments to the Board of FÁS;

• removal of the automatic right to nominate individuals for appointment to the Board of FÁS from bodies not directly accountable to the taxpayer;

• making the Director General of FÁS accountable to the Oireachtas;

• requiring the disclosure of conflicts of interests by directors and staff of FÁS;

• banning directors and staff of FÁS from any involvement on matters where they have a conflict; and

• protection for ‘whistleblower’ members of staff who report serious wrongdoing in the organisation.

Publishing the Bill, the Tánaiste said, “This Bill sends a clear signal to the public, and to FÁS itself, of a root and branch cultural change in accountability and transparency at the organisation. A smaller board, with greater accountability to the taxpayer through the Oireachtas; the obligatory disclosure of any conflict of interests by both directors and staff; the ban on director and staff involvement on matters where they have a conflict; provision for the removal of a director, or contract termination or demotion of a staff member, in breach; and the introduction of protection for whistleblowers, are robust and significant measures that will ensure this signal becomes a reality in the organisation.

“Since becoming aware of the serious deficiencies and irregularities in financial controls at FÁS following my appointment as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, it has been my consistent goal to get to the bottom of what had happened in FÁS and to ensure that it can never happen again. Changing the corporate governance structure and providing for greater accountability and transparency through enactment of this legislation, will substantially build on the improved financial and governance practices now in place across the organisation under the guidance of its new Director General, Mr. Paul O’Toole.”

The Bill takes account of recommendations of the Committee of Public Accounts and of the Comptroller and Auditor General and, in addition to reducing the size of the Board of FÁS from seventeen to eleven, it provides for a departure from the present legislative provision whereby a majority of the members of the Board of FÁS are nominated for appointment by the social partners and FÁS employees.

Concluding, the Tánaiste said, “The importance of the FÁS organisation at this time, as the Government works to address the current training, upskilling and employment needs of the workforce, is without question. I want to restore public confidence in the ability of FÁS to fully meet this challenging mandate in an efficient and effective manner. Publication of this legislation today is a significant step toward achieving this goal.”

Labour Services (Amendment) Bill, 2009 (PDF, 86KB)