Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

In regard to the discretionary payments, which are a different kettle of fish altogether, I read the documentation with some astonishment. We will be coming back to that separately with the Central Bank. When we read about the education sector, referred to on page 38, we note there was a substantial amount of money in respect of which no approval was given by the Department. Three severance payments were made by two third level institutions, presumably colleges or universities. The delegates should correct me if I am wrong. In one case, a third level institution paid an employee just over €183,000. The legal costs brought it up to almost €250,000. Paragraph 3.30 of the Controller and Auditor General's report outlines what I really find amazing. It states the governing body of the institution was made aware of the case and was informed that it was a matter for the president of the institution to decide. The settlement terms and amount paid were agreed and approved by the president on his own. He went back and told the governing body of the outcome. That surprises me in itself. One wonders why there is a governing body if the president is going to make the decision. The question for the delegation concerns the fact that this was done without any sanction from the Department. Is that not correct? The institution did not believe it needed sanction. Is that correct?