Isn't it strange that a man who flew his wife business class to Florida on happy time junkets courtesy of the taxpayer can now be held up as an example of how a public servant should behave when both we and they know they've done wrong?

Rody Molloy presided over a culture of flagrant spending by executives at Fás – expenses amounted to €5.7m in 2007. The facts are not disputed and there could be more surprising details to come. But in a culture where resignations are far from the norm, someone prepared to hold their hands up is a refreshing antidote to the prevailing culture of "never admit and never explain".

His appearance before the Public Accounts Committee was brave and dignified. He wasted our money and allowed others under his management to do the same. His attempt to justify his first-class travel entitlements was, he conceded, ill-judged. He showed no signs of bitterness about his resignation and knows that the writing was on the wall when the Fás scandal was revealed.

While his management was at best, deeply flawed and misguided, should we not welcome his willingness to take responsibility for it? How often in the past 15 years have we seen politicians take calamitous decisions that have led to money being wasted, u-turns being made and hurt being caused, and yet they remain in place without recourse or censure?

Perhaps Molloy's decision to come clean will have a lasting effect on how those who hold senior public positions behave when the chips are down.

More importantly, his resignation might just influence how we tolerate the abuse of public funds and make us more inclined to call a halt to jobs for the boys when it is patently obvious that the 'boys' enjoy such a good time at our expense.

And Another Thing...

Christmas crackers were half-price in Debenhams last week. There were percentages off all around the store, but there weren't many people availing of the offers. Perhaps the lack of custom was down to the disparity between the sterling and euro price tags on many of the items for sale, which bears no resemblance to the current exchange rate and serves as a stark reminder of just how much extra we still pay when we shop at the outposts of British retailers.