Mr. Sean Ó Foghlú:

Two issues are involved, one of which is the duration of any arrangement and the cost of same. In considering commencing an investigation or tendering process of any sort, an institution should have regard to these issues or have access to a tendering framework.

For example, on harassment and other issues, the ETBs have put in place a framework on the basis of which they can operate and from which they can draw down in terms of the costs involved. Those sorts of frameworks are the arrangements that should be put in place for investigations. Now, every investigation depends on trying to get the right person to do the job. A particular example is one of which this committee will be very aware. I am not talking about costs in this regard. When we carried out the investigation into WIT, we had to find the right individual for the job. We would very lucky in employing Dermot Quigley to do that work. There is an issue about the nature of the investigation and matching the expertise to it. A call was made, which appears to have been an appropriate call, that this would be academically driven, in the first instance, because it was an academic inquiry. Then there is an issue with regard to finding the right cost base for it. A cost of €1,500 a day seems excessive. In that context, a process was not undergone in the context of deciding on the amount.