Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

One might as well be upfront and say when one has worked with somebody. I have personal experience of working with the man.

Dr. Love's openness on the issues is very welcome. It will serve us well. I welcome the fact that he is being so upfront on the issues today. It is quite obvious to all members of the committee, who have experience of the issues concerning the HEA, that there is a serious breakdown when it comes to roles and responsibilities between the Department and HEA. We have had a number of reports and interim reports on third level issues. If there is a significant, difficult issue, what is the position on the various roles? I refer to the Accounting Officers in the individual institutions, HEA and Department. The questions of who is responsible and who takes responsibility for dealing with issues are all over the place. It is not fully known internally within the three tiers, and it is certainly not fully known to people who work in them or to us, the members of the Committee of Public Accounts. We know the heads of the institutions are the accountable officers but it is almost as if there is a pipeline of responsibility, through the HEA, through the Department, etc. Where one takes responsibility in its own right is not very clear. That is a real issue. Following on from the questions of the last speaker, I would like Dr. Love to give us specific examples, if he can, of where he feels, from a governance point of view, responsibly is falling between the cracks.