Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I am totally frustrated by that response. I am none the wiser. Serious concerns have been raised by many Members in recent times about the oversight of universities and other educational institutions. It ranges from academic attendance to partnerships with private companies that act against the public interest. These institutions have a huge influence on society, and they are publicly funded. We must ensure there is no negative influence in State-funded education. Educational institutions also receive huge amounts of money from the Exchequer. The sum of €3.3 billion was received last year.

The partnership between UCD and Tullow Oil is particularly concerning. Tullow Oil paid UCD €2 million to put on short courses for regulators in some African and South American countries. These courses have the stated focus of professional development of academics and technical professionals. We are effectively using the brand of UCD to do that work for Tullow Oil and it is a State-funded brand. The course, as it is described, has all sorts of intersections with regulatory bodies and State-related entities. I have serious concerns over a potential conflict of interest. How much influence did Tullow Oil have on the course content? What is the curriculum and who wrote it? I do not think it is appropriate for companies to use the good name of a public State-funded university to influence regulators. That is different from particular companies having interaction with universities. This is a completely funded course. I suggest that we need to have a meeting with UCD and perhaps the HEA. There are similar courses in TCD for example. This is simply not acceptable. There is no extra information given. There is not full disclosure of what kind of standards the HEA is asking of UCD on the Tullow Oil issue. I do not accept this as an answer.