Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to touch briefly on Waterford Institute of Technology and have a few other questions. I thank the witnesses for the documentation they have just circulated to members. A couple of points came to mind and in the interim, I have had a chance to look at the Deloitte & Touche report. It makes specific reference to travel in respect of the Bell Airways charter of a plane to transport a visitor from Waterford to Dublin in 2007 for €4,200. That payment was entered in the accounts under the miscellaneous heading. That was not the appropriate place for such an expense. I suggest to Mr. Boland that in future, the HEA should seek an analysis of miscellaneous expenditure in any account it receives. It is the first heading one should look at because if one examines the trend in the relevant years, the actual miscellaneous figure was €58,000 in 2008 and €27,000 in 2007. The question is whether that payment was tucked in there.

Second, I refer to the invoices with which members have been provided and I have read Mr. Redmond O'Donoghue's statement. Basically, this makes reference to how it pertained to Dr. Port's stay in terms of WIT seeking university status. First, it appears to me as though there were two and not three flights. The invoice to Bell Airways is in respect of a flight taken on 31 March. That was the invoice date and the invoice is No. 198. It was invoiced to Fewer Harrington Lawlor & Partners, which is a firm of architects and planners. It was referenced to Kieran Byrne, the former president of WIT. That invoice was then sent by Fewer Harrington Lawlor & Partners as a single payment advice to WIT for the attention of Kieran Byrne. As far as I can ascertain, this is the same payment and the same flight and it was a trip to Dublin with reference to Nicholas Fewer. Did that flight involve Dr. Jim Port at all? I seek clarification in this regard. That Bel Airways invoice of 31 March was not to WIT but to Fewer Harrington Lawlor & Partners, which obviously was doing work for WIT. The Fewer Harrington Lawlor & Partners invoice that went to WIT was for the attention of Kieran Byrne and was signed off by Kieran Byrne only and was dated 11 May. Then there was a cheque requisition on 15 May for that particular payment.

As for the infamous €4,200 flight, there is an invoice from Bell Airways with no date on it. It is addressed to no one as there is no addressee on the invoice. It simply refers to flight on 29 June 2007, hire of aircraft and pilot for return flight from Filton, England to Dublin, including all handling and landing charges at Filton and Dublin Airport, €4,200. It does not give a date, as one normally would expect with an invoice, does not give an addressee as to whom the invoice was sent and does not state when the invoice was paid. It is signed off by Kieran Byrne and what looks to me like P. O'Donoghue. While I am open to correction, it looks like it was signed off by the former chairman.

I seek clarification on this issue. While people might say it is not huge in the context of the overall budget, in the context of controls and generally, when one looks at the other aspects regarding the use of moneys within the former president's office, it must be open to question. The Secretary General of the Department of Education and Skills should provide members with an overview with regard to the period in question. He should indicate who was paying Dr. Port's consultancy fee and to whom was he reporting? Was he reporting to the Secretary General of the then Department of Education and Science or to the Minister for Education and Science? Who was Minister for Education and Science at the time? Alternatively, was Dr. Port reporting to the President of WIT? Was the Secretary General aware of this flight? Does he have concerns about it? It appears as though there was a flight on 20 March and then a second flight on 29 June. The Secretary General should outline who he understands to have been on the flight and for how long Dr. Port was here.

To whom did Dr. Jim Port report? Was it in the gift of the former president of Waterford Institute of Technology, WIT, to provide this flight? There is significant confusion around this and it does a disservice to WIT and to the Department of Education and Skills. Will Mr. Ó Foghlú give me a flavour on this? Will Mr. Boland give his views on this too?