David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I ask the Chairman to bear in mind that a report from the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General, which is confined to examining these matters from a value for money perspective, focused on the relationship between State funding and the company that was spun out. It looked at a very limited aspect of this matter. As we know, the HEA report looked in more detail at other issues relating to the spinning out of these companies, including the management of conflicts of interest. That is what they were looking at. The report we got from the Comptroller and Auditor General showed that the institute accepted that it needed to improve on some issues that had arisen. I think the board has since taken those issues on board. We want something similar here. All we want is the facts. When we have the facts, it will be up to the board to follow though on them. It is important for all the other institutes. Many companies spin out of them. Last week, I met representatives of a fantastic company that spun out of an institute. This stuff is good. Many people are doing work in this area. It is important for everyone who is involved in spinning out these companies that the facts are established. We have never said that there is wrongdoing. We are saying that people are saying that there are issues. They are writing into the Department. They are engaging. They are doing the right thing by putting their information on paper, documenting it and giving it to the Department. As the Chairman indicated, it has been parked.