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THE PUBLIC ACCOUNTS committee (PAC) is to write to Junior Minister for Skills and Training, John Halligan to ask him to clarify a statement he made regarding the questioning of Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT).
Officials from the college appeared before the PAC last week.
Questions focused on how companies co-located within WIT were commercialised and in some cases sold off. The officials were asked about what policies were in place to deal this.
Waterford TD David Cullinane asked about the potential conflicts of interest there might be where people involved had various capacities within the college.
It’s understood the Independent Alliance TD took issue with the line of questioning, and made statements on the issue to the media.
“Destabilising effect”
Halligan warned that such suggestions could have a “destabilising effect” on WIT when it is at a “critical point” of gaining university status.
Sinn Fein’s Mary Lou McDonald said it is “astonishing” a minister would consider it appropriate to put out a statement that appears to “rap the knuckles of the PAC”.
“I want to know what we are going to do about that,” she asked the chair, Sean Fleming.
What I am querying here is that a minister deemed it appropriate to intervene in that way, I think it is completely inappropriate. I can’t imagine what he was thinking…
She said at a minimum, the committee should write to the minister and explain “we are doing our job and we will continue to do our job”.
Sending out statements ‘willy-nilly’
“We need to stop this – what next? Every minister can willy-nilly fire out statements and attempt to undermine what has been very thorough work and very necessary work,” she said.
Fleming said because the statement came from a government department it was a serious issue.
“We are in an open society. Anybody, including a minister, is entitled to criticise our work… I think people have the right to criticise us – we are not above criticism.”
However, he said he wants clarification from John Halligan as to what he was referring to in his statement. If he cannot back up his remarks, he should withdraw them, said Fleming.
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I’d rather not think about John Halligans “willy-nilly” at all thanks very much…
@Paddy Ryan: never stopped May Lou shouting her head off
The Tangerine Queen is an embarrassment.
She should head on back to Fianna Fáil.
@Diarmuid: the monkey is awake again…….
So Halligan wants underhand privatisation of enterprises in WIT, and those who might have benefited kept quite.
He cares nothing about any potential status of WIT, he cares about the corruption being exposed.
Is there any minister in this FG/FF/IA government that doesn’t have the stench of corruption off them.
@Dave Doyle: He realises that it is of key importance to the region to push for university status, to make more education options more acessible for the regions population and in turn make the region more attractive for high skill employers and in turn increasing the possibility of retaining highly educated people and indeed attract such persons from outside the region and from abroad. It’s called being strategic and as a Minister, he needs to lend his political weight to this.
@David Wall: If there is no wrong doing involved, you are right. If there was, and it looks like some questions have to be asked, then you are wrong.
No matter the benefits and to whom, corruption can never be covered up.
Look at the state the country is in with the wholesale corruption and the covering up of the corruption that is going, and has gone on.
Talk is cheap,water however…
There was plenty of money to waste on meters,consultants, bonuses, gyms,private insurance for executive spouses. This at the same time when medical cards where taken off the most ill children in the state & rent allowance was cut, leading to the huge numbers who are homeless since billions WASTED on metering & bonuses thw last few years. What are the bonuses for? Why are there over 750 people STILL in Irish Water as billing finally suspended for nearly a year & hopefully charges gone forever now, so what the hell are we paying for 750+ call centre staff all this time now for and paying them bonuses to add insult to injury
@Mike Holmes: is free
Is Mary Lou gonna table another no confidence motion? That would make it how many this year?
@Tommy Doran: What confidence do you have in the government, in light of all the scandals they stumble into week in week out?
@Dave Doyle: Unfortunately there is no alternative
@Tommy Doran: So we just accept that whole sale corruption is part and parcel of politics and government. Is that what you’re saying?
@Dave Doyle: Unfortunately the Electorate is left with no alternative to all the muppets currently in the Dail, am so surprised that the turn out is as high as it was in last election. All our politicians are all tied to their party line, until Party politics are dead and buried we may then see some politicians might show some leadership and foresight to run our small country. We have 3 times too many TDs
Poor Mary Lou.
Michele O’Neill has stolen your crown.
Time to jump ship and go back to Fianna Fáil.
Don’t worry, Gorry has the ability to control 2 puppets.
@David Murphey: At the moment nobody is sitting on the throne at Stormont while Mary Lou McDonald is actually doing public service on the public accounts committee in Leinster House. so what are you on about? Your statement has no relevance whatsoever to Halligans words re the PACand the reasons he spoke them. I would say the main reason he spoke them was out of pure stupidity arrogance ignorance and a dishonest criminally corrupt mindset which are his hallmarks
Somebody should tell Leo about making statements willy nilly!
If anyone thinks a general election is going to change anything (beyond a certain amount of venting) then just tune into our political circus on TV and/or radio. It’s going to take a collective peaceful action (or refusal to keep going along with Irish politicians) to make any difference and this country has always been this bad during my lifetime (I’m almost 49). There’s just more media coverage of the corruption and incompetence.
@David A. Murray: Could be worse though,we could have competent officials then we would probably be ruled?
@David A. Murray: Peaceful just gets ignored. Many well attended anti water charges protests were rubbished, and the protesters slandered, and simply ignored.
We need to do something that cannot be ignored, something that will have to be taken seriously and acted on.
@Dave Doyle: are you encouraging violent protest? Innocent people were murdered in Greece when the protests turned violent. One of them a pregnant bank teller. I for one hope we never go that route.
@jane: Tell me what good all the peaceful protests have achieved.
@Dave Doyle: they have achieved the conclusion that 2% cannot subvert democracy. Once PBP etc gain a majority they can implement their agenda. About 46% more and they will be at 51%.
@Michael Doyle: So what we seen In Dail Eireann during the week wasn’t subverting democracy?
A minority government, supported/in coalition by a supposed opposition party, had a draft report on the water issue overturned to support their agenda. That made a mockery of the Dail and democracy.
@jane: Still waiting for your answer.
@Dave Doyle: so if you don’t get your way being peaceful you should get violent? That’s a skewed view.
@jane: Still didn’t answer the question!!
@Dave Doyle: sorry my response didn’t meet your requirements. To answer your question, I don’t know if the protests achie
@jane: achieved much BUT that is no excuse for violence. Do you think it’s ok that people were killed in Greece when the protesters decided they needed to go the violent route? A pregnant woman who’s only crime was the job she had? She was a bank teller not some high up exec making the decisions.
@Dave Doyle: Yea because a violent protest wouldn’t make a mockery of the Dail and democracy. Good man Dave , you go ahead and attack the Dail and see how you get on
@Robert Woodward: Clearly holding out for dagga weed legislation to pass….the Dail might have its faults but its anything but common.
@jane: I encourage whatever it takes to get this government to take notice of people’s protests, not to slander them, or ignore them, or treat them as if they don’t matter and feel as if slandering them is ok.
Whatever it takes.
The witch hunt conducted by David Cullinane against the WIT president Prof Donnelly at the PAC was disgusting. Cullinane compounded this by telling a barefaced lie on WLR in which he claimed said Prof Donnelly told him he would resign if he kept up his line of questioning. Cullinane seems be intent damaging the reputation of his local institute of technology and its president so he could grandstand on the PAC. Its interesting that the editor of Silicon Republic wrote a editorial this week strongly defending WIT and Prof Donnelly who has a proven track record of bringing research funding employment into the south east.Of course innovation and enterprise are things the Sinn Fein and the left dont think we need in this country .
@Robert Woodward: Is “innovation and enterprise” the new term for corruption?
@Robert Woodward: I don’t think PAC is intent on pursuing a witchunt against anyone. I dont think anyone on PAC is intent on damaging the reputation of either WIT or any individual working for it.
I do think the intention of PAC is to get to the bottom of whether perceived inappropriate conflicts of interest led to a situation where employees of the institute working in public roles and payed by the tax payers of this country profiteered on a private basis in a big way as a result of those perceived conflicts of interest.
Noone is disputing the intellectual capacity of the institute, its employees or indeed the delivery of innovative companies as a result of the research and/or funding.
@Robert Woodward: the fact that an internal review was ordered into this matter by the governing body of WIT suggests there was some concern.
Also, I believe Mr. Donnelly referenced a conversation he had with Deputy Cullinane about resignation remarks publicly on local radio rather than you referring to this as a ‘bare faced lie’?
Attended the WIT a few years ago and the dogs on the street knew there was money being spent willy nilly. The head of the college was replaced while I was there over it. He spent something like 200k on his office. Local news papers covered the story at the time. One of the things put into the office was a false fireplace. Who does that sort of thing on public money. He had a sence if self impotance that would have made a dog sick
@Science of beer: That was the old president , Not Willie Donnelly who was the head of research and the current president
@Science of beer: it is interesting that Mary Lou sitting on pac (in December 2015) defended that former head and object to the way he was pilloried by claims that ultimately do not appear to have stood up to proper formal investigation. Since when was having notions a firing offense in a university- trinity dons would cough their roast swans up into their chablis at the very suggestion.
@Science of beer: Millions of taxpayers euros were squandered in WIT back then and it would appear the rich vein of corruption still runs through WIT.
All politicians have their own agenda, every last one of them. If people think the PAC are any different then they’re kidding themselves. Look at the ones on the committee, only there to further themselves and get public attention, no other reason. And those who they are investigating are equally as bad and Let’s not get started on the current government. There’s back handed political deals going on to stop x y and z being investigated. The PAC should be fully independent of any politics or allegiance. It’s a needed body but being run by the wrong people.
Why are all these committees made up of serving members of some political party. Why don’t we appoint a cross section of people from the community to investigate such matters.
Another day, another politico WIT bashing. They never get called when the allegations go unproven years later, but the stink and destroyed careers stay hanging about.
The playground is closed for two weeks after today.
Halligan is a traitor
Vote for John.
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