Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Thursday, 6 April 2017
Public Accounts Committee
2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Waterford Institute of Technology: Financial Statements 2013-2014
9:00 am
Dr. Graham Love:
I will take the first question. Provided that the people involved can demonstrate that appropriate management procedures were in place to avoid or manage the conflicts of interest, that is warranted and correct. That is the practice all over the world and I have said that several times. The Deputy asked for my view on this. Provided that it can be demonstrated that policies are in place and that they were followed, including stepping out a decision, being at arm's length from particular decisions that relate to the particular commercial terms, etc., that is, indeed, acceptable because we want researchers and, indeed, people in senior positions in academic institutions to be engaged in this type of activity. If they were totally separate, it would not work properly.
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