Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

That is good. I agree with what is being said, but I took a little while to read the report and I want to put some remarks on the record. In the first paragraph the report reads: "This review was also informed by a recommendation of the Dáil's Committee of Public Accounts ... in July 2017 [when we said that we were] not satisfied that there was sufficient clarity [in] relation to relationships with CIT's Maritime College and other corporate entities". To a large extent this report has flowed from our work and our recommendations. It was not necessarily going to be initiated in the first instance.

I want to make one or two observations. I know the Deputy accepts this. Based on the information available, there were eight Cork Institute of Technology employees working in a company called GAC Training and Service Solutions Designated Activity Company, GTSS, and there was one more CIT employee working in a company called SEFtec NMCI Offshore Training Designated Activity Company, SNO. The report goes on to say that the conflict of interests register in respect of CIT had only been completed in respect of one case. It recommends that this should be done immediately. It provides the pay grades of the people working in the National Maritime College of Ireland. Nine people are mentioned, one of whom was receiving a salary of more than €40,000 from the subsidiary. One person working for SNO was in receipt of payment of more than €50,000 and was an employee of CIT at the same time. The point the Deputy raises is very well founded. The committee was right to pursue this matter but we have not got all of the information we require yet. Those points can be taken on board. There is agreement that it is, as Deputy MacSharry put it, a response but not a full answer.