Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses and thank them for their time, consideration and sharing their insights with us.

Two things come to mind. The first arises from listening to the three deputations. There is broad and general consensus along the lines of the recommendations of the report. This is my reading of the three contributions. I welcome that the three groups seem to be on a similar page in that regard.

It is easy to say that we should put more money into everything. It is the answer to everything. It is easy to say that we have a bottomless pit of money in these times and that it is great.

I have a question on governance for the two lady witnesses who have direct and first-hand experience. Dr. Day referred to significant improvements in governance in recent times. What did she mean by that? Could the witnesses give us some assurances on how far governance has evolved? Can they provide us with some insight into why they would make such a statement?

I carried out some work recently on the amount of legal fees expended by universities in defending legal actions involving staff. There have been several high-profile cases. The increase in the amount of legal fees being spent by third level institutions and universities has rocketed. By any standards the figures are extraordinary. Can the witnesses offer a comment on that matter?