John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am sorry, it was €635,000. Surely a question should been asked about it, but it was not raised. I do not expect the HEA to know every single detail and to get down to that level of management. I do, however, expect it to take its oversight role so seriously that WIT understands clearly what is expected of it. It is clear from this ten year period that management completely ignored any effort by the HEA, if an effort was made, to get it to perform properly.

Rather than refer to the single department or president, have you looked at the audit committee, the governing body, the role of Mr. McFeely and the attempt he made to advise on some of the errors that were going on or the spend that was being made, and what was the outcome of that inquiry?

I asked you about specific spend relating to that flight, for example. It is extraordinary that someone would have signed off on transport of that kind and at that level of cost. I believe the figure was €4,200. Did you investigate that? What was the consultant working on that caused him to be in Waterford and caused this transport to be provided to get him back to Dublin? I understand he did not ask for it but that it was provided.

This committee has a right to know that in order to understand what exactly was going on and where and who fell down in the process, because someone did, indeed, fall down. I remind you that a ten year period had elapsed. When you wrote on 17 May 2011, a ten year period had gone by before anything was uncovered. A substantial amount of money is involved, from €30,000 to €635,000.