Derek Nolan (Galway West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

It is a back-and-forth process. According to the Comptroller and Auditor General's report, there were meetings between representatives of Trinity and the HEA, with correspondence in July 2010 from the HEA to the university stating that the operation of internal promotion schemes was not permissible under the framework, and the monitoring committee considered that the university would be acting outside the terms of the framework in making those promotional appointments. It asked the university to withdraw the promotions until further notice and stated that if it proceeded, financial penalties in the form of a reduced 2011 current grant for the university would apply. At the time the decisions were being made there was a clear conflict with the HEA about what was happening.