Dr. Charles Larkin:

I would say the key thing to learn from Irish Water is that Irish Water began life as an off-balance sheet exercise that was going to be perfectly okay with the Europeans. Then it fell apart quickly when there was not enough revenue coming in. The lesson from Irish Water is to have a belt-and-braces approach to repayment. That is to be noted.

Another question was raised about adaptability. That is a question of internal governance and reform within the structures of the organisation. Accounting issues and other matters related to the performance of the higher education sector have been reviewed on multiple occasions at the Committee of Public Accounts. Various positive and negative aspects of these have been outlined at that committee as well as by the Comptroller and Auditor General. I would refer this committee to the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Committee of Public Accounts in this regard.