Mr. Dara Lynott:

I read out my statement from June regarding the involvement of Queen's University Belfast and I was in the middle of saying that, in the normal run of things, personnel will change between an invitation for expressions of interest by a research funder being issued and the confirmation that a research body has been awarded a research contract.

We still have a full-time academic who is part of the internal technical review team and who is part of the consortium. We still see invoices from Queen's University Belfast, which are being invoiced to the project associated with that statement of member. What might explain the difference is that there is a difference between what I would call the corporate entity that is Queen's University Belfast and the research or academic bodies which individually apply for research projects. Again, as a significant environmental research funder in Ireland, we would have multiple academics within various universities who avail of the administration and facilities of their colleges in applying for research funds and completing research but are distinct from what I would call the executive of a university. That is the only explanation I can give for the letter the Deputy has obtained.