Mr. Seán Ó Foghlú:

Let us take the first Comptroller and Auditor General report and the hearing of the Committee of Public Accounts in early 2012. It was a matter for the VEC at the time to consider any disciplinary process for the CEO. I am not aware that a disciplinary process was considered and the Department certainly did not raise a disciplinary process with the VEC at the time.

There are some parallels between the issues but it is not an exact continuation. It is important to note that there was follow-up after 2012. There was an internal audit review of procurement in the VEC that was subsequently given to the ETB when it was established. That was one of the reasons the ETB's internal audit service decided not to have a further procurement audit. It had effectively just done a procurement audit. There were management findings which would be considered by the audit committee in terms of their effective implementation. The Department did not conclude a view on this matter until the Thorn report was completed. That report was completed and published after the former CEO had retired. There was no necessity for the ETB or the Department to consider, nor would it have been possible, to consider. I do not think there was enough of an outcome. I think it was only after the Thorn report and the follow-on Comptroller and Auditor General report that the issue could possibly have been considered, whatever that consideration might have been but that is a matter for the ETB.