Mr. Dara Lynott:

I have my statement from June last. When I was last before this committee, I stated:

The research is being undertaken by a consortium of independent organisations, comprising CDM Smith, British Geological Survey, University College Dublin, Ulster of Ulster, Queens University Belfast, [AMEC] Foster Wheeler and Philip Lee Solicitors.

On foot of the question I was asked today, I stated that the role of staff from Queen's University Belfast was to contribute to Project A1. Specifically, it was divided in two parts as follows: three researchers in the QUB groundwater group were proposed to work on a number of Project A1 tasks; and a full-time academic was nominated as part of the consortium's internal technical review team.

Upon appointment, as can happen in any research, persons say that, although they signed up for research, they are busy doing other stuff.This happens all the time. It can happen, particularly between the tender for research going out, a response coming in from those who want to do the research and them being notified that they are good to go on the research. As a research body, we get that all the time.