Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 27 September 2012

Public Accounts Committee

Special Report No. 78 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Matters Arising out of Education Audits

11:20 am

Dr. Hugh Brady:

To be fair to the HEA, it did respond but the matter was never clarified. There was correspondence relating to June 2001 acknowledging that we had sent in the schedule and telling us that the Department regretted the delay in approving the allowances. In 2005, we were told by the HEA that it now required more detail on the rationale and justification for these allowances and it would discuss the university's submission with the Department and revert to us. As I mentioned, in 2006, there was a change in tone and we were told that it was necessary to continue the allowances in accordance with section 25.