John Deasy (Waterford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

-----it will probably end up in court and will be dealt with there. I have my own opinion on who will be successful in this. However, as the facts leak out about Professor Byrne and how he was dealt with, it is becoming more troubling. I am not the only member of this committee who is forming the same opinion. I have raised the matter previously and, on a personal level, I believe Professor Byrne was badly dealt with. Ultimately, all the issues which were lumped together that came about within the Waterford Institute of Technology were dumped on his doorstep and it was unfair. He became the scapegoat for a lot of things that went wrong at WIT and that was extremely unfair. If one looks at the documentation and the history of the situation, once can see that Professor Byrne did a lot of good for the institute and that has been forgotten. There are questions to be answered regarding how the HEA dealt with him. The court will probably determine on that but I am not the only member of this committee who has examined this matter and formed that opinion.