David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is similar, but one cannot even put it on the same scale because the vast majority of RTÉ's funding does come from the State. We had a discussion with some of them on these foundations, and whatever about those being foundations, here we are talking about the actual universities and institutes themselves. It is interesting that the paragraph from which I quoted comes at a time when, probably for the first time, we as a committee are putting a real, sharp spotlight on the third level sector. There were many issues that came out of that which, I imagine, rattled some within the sector. We could see that even when some of the Accounting Officers came before us. They were uncomfortable with some of the questions that were raised. Let us be clear that the spotlight we put on the third level sector led to a number of reports by the HEA and the Department that would not have been carried out otherwise. I do not like the line I quoted. It is very clever in how it is framed, but any time I see the word "balance" in the context of accountability, especially as a member of the Committee of Public Accounts, I become deeply suspicious.