Marc MacSharry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I had to laugh when I read the first page; I do not know whether anyone else did. We took issue with the fact that people who could be the subject of a disclosure may have a hand in putting together the terms of reference for the investigation. The Secretary General has written back to state everything was okay because the Higher Education Authority, HEA, has advised that the terms of reference were set by independent legal advisers for CIT's audit committee. We established that somebody who was on that audit committee was the subject of some of the disclosure. The audit committee is retaining solicitors to do a job and gives the solicitors a brief. Its members write the brief for the solicitor. There is no way that this is above reproach. What if I were to employ a solicitor, having told him or her that I do not want to be shown anything but that he or she should go off and do the job as best he or she can? It is a laugh. If a committee brings in solicitors and tells them the committee wants them to prepare the terms of reference, they will ask the committee what the brief is, what are the terms of reference and what does the committee want them to look at? They will get the brief in advance and then they will draw up terms of reference that suit those who are paying the bill, namely, the audit committee, some of whom were the subject of the disclosure. It is a laugh. This is totally unacceptable.