Mr. Seamus McCarthy:

Certainly, the way it has been managed in the past, there are unusual circumstances. There have been changes. As Dr. Love has said, we are working together to try to bring forward the situation. I understand that the HEA has suspended its requirement for an audited funding statement. They still obviously require very timely financial reporting from the colleges and that is a help.

Separately, we have set targets because I have power under the Acts that govern the audit. I have the power to set deadlines for submission of the financial statements to me. I have done that and what I have done in setting those targets is I have planned for the things to be brought forward progressively so that we are at three to four months after the end of the reporting period for the accounts to come to me.

In one case, we have also agreed with a college that we will be the only auditors. We are working with Maynooth. We have actually very much progressed the audit there and take that, if you like, extra layer, out of the process.