Fás adviser had poster sites interest, audit found

AN ADVERTISING executive, Martin Ryan, who was a consultant to Fás on its advertising spend, had an interest in poster sites that were used in the authority's campaigns, a Fás internal audit investigation discovered.

Mr Ryan was engaged as a consultant by advertising firm AFA O'Meara after that firm was given the Fás account. Greg Craig, the senior Fás executive who headed the corporate affairs division of the authority, was involved in getting Mr Ryan engaged. Mr Craig's division was responsible for Fás advertising and public relations.

Details of some of the findings of the special audit inquiry into the corporate affairs division of Fás were made public earlier this year after a heavily censored or redacted version of the audit report was released to The Irish Times under the Freedom of Information Act.

A similarly redacted version of the report was given to members of the Dáil Committee on Public Accounts last week.

However, The Irish Timeshas now seen a copy of the uncensored report.

The report outlines that when AFA O'Meara was taken on by Fás on an interim basis in 2003, Mr Craig made "direct approaches" to the firm to have certain staff appointed, including Mr Ryan. Mr Ryan had handled the Fás account at the previous advertising firm that had acted for Fás, Euro RSCG.

The audit team noted that the firm would have felt under pressure to accede to Mr Craig's approaches as it would have been hopeful that in time it would get a permanent contract with Fás.

The audit team was told by Stuart Fogarty, managing director of AFA O'Meara, that he thought Fás was using an usually high level of outdoor advertising. Outdoor advertising was 30 per cent of total Fás spend in 2004. He thought 10 per cent would be more usual. The Fás spend on outdoor advertising in 2004 was approximately €600,000.

Mr Ryan told the audit team that he informed Mr Craig and Mr Fogarty that he had an interest in poster sites and they confirmed this. The report said he had about 20 sites.

"There are grounds for unease on the part of Fás that, given the significant level of expenditure on outdoor advertising, an amount of money was ultimately going to a party who was acting in a consultancy capacity in relation to this expenditure," the report states.

"It is clear that Mr Ryan was the ultimate beneficiary of some expenditure on outdoor advertising by Fás while he simultaneously acted as a consultant in relation to how this money was spent."

Mr Ryan did not want to comment when contacted yesterday. He told the audit team his poster sites were leased to poster contractors for up to five years at a time and he had no role or financial interest in whether particular posters were posted on his sites.

The audit team also noted that advertising was taken out in the Lucan Blanchardstown Gazette in 2004. This was "unusual in that it was not a national newspaper", the report states. One of the shareholders in the Gazette group, Michael McGovern, jointly owned poster sites with Mr Ryan.

Mr McGovern told The Irish Times that he tendered for the Fás advertisements and had the documents to show this. He said the audit team was wrong and that Fás did take out advertising with regional and local newspapers around this time, including another local paper in Dublin. He said he owned three poster sites with Mr Ryan and this had nothing to do with the advertisements placed with the Gazette.

The Irish Times bought a 45 per cent share in the Gazette group in 2007, and subsequently a controlling interest.

Mr Craig is understood to be on sick leave from Fás.