GREG CRAIG, a key Fás executive involved in matters under investigation by the Dáil Public Accounts Committee (PAC), is being invited to come before the committee next week.
The committee also decided at a private meeting yesterday that it would invite the former director general of Fás, Dr John Lynch, and the former chairman of Fás, Brian Geoghegan, to attend.
The Dáil group has also decided to invite Gerry Pyke, a former assistant director general at Fás who at one time was Mr Craig's direct superior in the organisation. Mr Craig used to report directly to Mr Lynch but Mr Pyke was installed between the two men by another former director general, Rody Molloy, in the period after he took over from Mr Lynch in 2000. Mr Pyke retired recently.
Mr Craig is on suspension on full pay and without prejudice arising from an ongoing inquiry by the internal audit section within Fás, into the corporate affairs division of the agency, which was headed by Mr Craig up to earlier this year.
Last week the committee was told by Fás assistant general secretary Christy Cooney that Mr Craig was by no means "gagged" from giving evidence to the committee.
Mr Craig is being told by the committee of the Fás position and of its view that he, Mr Craig, can have access to Fás documents if he wants to. "Greg Craig has been seeking a meeting and we are giving him the opportunity to present his view to us," the chairman of the PAC, Bernard Allen TD, told The Irish Times.
"We hope the four people we are inviting will turn up on Thursday and enable us to conclude this phase of our inquiry."
The committee is hopeful it can complete its interim report by late next month, a development that would allow the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG), John Buckley, to begin his inquiry into Fás. Mr Buckley's report is expected to be completed by some time around April 2009.
Mr Lynch is executive chairman of CIÉ and was mentioned as a possible member of the body appointed recently to examine possible savings in the public sector. Mr Lynch was not appointed to the body. Mr Geoghegan is a former executive with the employers' group, Ibec.
The PAC inquiry began after an internal audit report covering certain expenditures and related matters at the Fás corporate affairs division, came to its attention by way of the C&AG and the media.
