The report by the Comptroller and Auditor General John Buckley found lax control on spending and a failure to follow general Department of Finance principles on purchasing and oversight within the agency.

One of the most significant problems identified by Mr Buckley was travel.

Between 2002 and 2008, 4,400 flights were taken at a combined cost of €3m. Of those, 3,400 were short haul, with an above average number in business class.

In long haul, luxurious travel arrangements were reserved for senior management, their families and guests. Students of the Science Challenge programme flew economy class. As a result, FÁS’s use of premium long haul services compared favourably with that of other state agencies.

“FÁS staff below director level and participants in programmes generally travelled economy class. The predominant use of business class was by senior management, the staff of Corporate Affairs and non-FÁS personnel," the report said.

• The manager of the Science Challenge programme spent €124,000 on 24 trips;
• The director of corporate affairs spent €95,000 on 18 trips;
• Former director general Mr Molloy spent €93,000 on 28 trips;
• The agency paid €200,000 to ferry partners and non-company personnel to events. Most of these were non-staff members and included journalists.

In 2001, a new arrangement was put in place by which staff members of corporate services were allowed to book their own flights and other methods of travel. This ran contrary to the proper scrutiny policy which had been laid down by the agency eight years earlier.

Another significant problem within FAS, identified by the report, was the scrutiny of credit cards. Former director general Rody Molloy had held two credit cards for expenses. In a number of other cases, there was no evidence of business reasons for costs incurred. (Source: Irish Examiner)