Remarkably soft approach to passengers on Fás gravy train

DÁIL SKETCH:Six times, he felt compelled to "commend" Rody Molloy of Fás for taking the "honourable" course and cashing in his chips, writes Miriam Lord

As director general of the national training body, he made a valuable contribution to Fás, noted a downbeat Biffo.

And Fás, it must be said, made valuable contributions to Rody. (First class transatlantic travel doesn't come cheap.) But the Taoiseach didn't mention this.

Luckily for Brian, Molloy's resignation late on Tuesday night was "of his own volition".

Nobody pushed him, insisted the Taoiseach, in the same way Bertie Ahern insists that nobody pushed him either.

A man's gotta go when a man's gotta go.

That wasn't the only lucky break the Taoiseach got yesterday, and heaven knows, the man needs a few. For starters, Tánaiste and Minister for Trade Mary Coughlan was in Dubai and incommunicado.

Best of all, the thrilling news that Mary Harney was thought to be the mystery client at the centre of the great Cocoa Beach Nail Bar mystery didn't break until Biffo had left the Dáil for this week. He would really have looked like Cocoa the Cowen if he had to explain that.

So maybe the tide is turning for our luckless leader.

But back to Rody, who was the main focus of attention early on. Brian Cowen will not kick a man when he's down. As past performance has shown, he will defend his man to the hilt, until the guy falls of his own volition.

The Taoiseach believes loyalty is a virtue.

As it was for Bertie, so was it for Rody.

Hence Cowen's instinctive unqualified defence of the embattled Fás boss on Monday, his relative silence before the capitulation on Tuesday and the return of his admiration when the deed was done on Wednesday.

Offalyman Rody was thus spared the indignity of his old friend having to send around the four boys from Slash, Tackle and Chop to sack him.

Mr Molloy may be grateful for the soft landing, but the public might not be as tolerant of the Taoiseach's wishy-washy response to the way passengers in the first-class compartment travelled on the Fás gravy train.

Documents obtained by Fine Gael showing the lavish spending habits of the top brass were introduced with a theatrical flourish by Enda Kenny.

"I have here the flight records . . . " he declared, waving papers detailing the expensive travel habits of the State agency big wigs, name-checking such exotic spots as Honolulu and Tokyo and San Francisco along the way.

"I have here the records of a major hotel in Dublin . . . " he continued, this time waving Shelbourne Hotel invoices indicating an inordinate fondness in Fás for purchasing fine wine and luxury nosebags.

Brian Cowen shrugged.

Could it be that after 11 years in a Government merc, Brian Cowen has lost touch? Or could it be that his deeply felt sense of loyalty and of place makes him stubborn, or even soft, when faced with a difficult decision?

Public servants around the country are hoping today that Cowen's soft side will prevail when the boys from Slash, Tackle and Chop come calling with their clipboards.

Maybe the Government will shirk the necessary cuts in public service spending and waffle around the problem in the way they have waffled around the situation with Fás.

There is room for optimism with the setting up of an expert group to take the blame for hard decisions - An Bord Slash, Tackle and Chop.

Despite fine words at the launch of STC yesterday evening, there is every chance that the recommendations of the expert quartet might be ignored.

It wouldn't be the first time. Government departments are groaning under the weight of unimplemented reports.

It was a lovely launch though, under the gilded ceilings of Dublin Castle in front of a very snazzy looking new logo and a fabulous new slogan.

"Citizen centred. Performance focused." Or as Bill Cullen puts it on his TV show: "You're Fired!" Bill would have probably cost less and been far more entertaining.

And as the axe falls and the public servants are shunted from their jobs, maybe Brian Cowen will stand up for them in the Dáil like he did for Bertie and Rody and repeatedly commend them for choosing to go honourably.

Although in fairness, there might be a better chance of that if they can answer all or any of the following questions: Are you a big noise? Are you from Offaly? Do you support Fianna Fáil? If not, get your coat and the bus home.