Mr. Diarmuid Collins:

The foundation is a fundraising arm, an entity that is a private company that raises funds for the university, from philanthropy, from donors and from alumni, which supports the university for students, for access and for capital. It is a separate legal entity. It is not part of the university and it is not consolidated with the financial statements. We gave a commitment last year, because a similar matter arose as part of the Comptroller and Auditor General's certification, that we would append those accounts going forward in order that when the accounts are laid before the Oireachtas they will have attached to them the financial statements for the Cork University Foundation.

In our president's briefing papers that we sent in last week, we have said that we are looking at a review of the foundation and the governance model and, pending that review, it may well change the accounting of the foundation. I do not want to predict the outcome of it but were it to be no longer a separate legal entity, it would then be consolidated as part of the university itself. For now, it is a separate entity. It does what it does and supports the university. Because it is a separate entity, it is disclosed in the accounts, under FRS 8, as a relationship under our disclosure note 31, but it is appended and it is not part of the consolidation. Because of that, it is referenced as part of the Comptroller and Auditor General's overall certification drawing attention to the matter that we have it. It is not consolidated but it is a separate entity.