Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Ó Foghlú for that. The dilemmas between the various Departments, the HEA and the institute have been voiced and the term "systems failure" has been used repeatedly. We often hear that term at this committee. I would like to drill into the issues of individual responsibility and accountability for these matters. In the public interest, and notwithstanding systems failures that have been identified, where sits individual responsibility for this fiasco, the entrails of which we have picked over a couple of times on this committee? I would like a response to that question on behalf of WIT, the Department and the HEA. The average person looking at this mess would ask many questions of the system, but would also ask questions of individuals in senior positions and about the level of accountability to be exercised in terms of their actions, misjudgments, misconduct or whatever term we might wish to use.