Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I would like to thank the Deputy for raising this serious matter. Institutes of technology are autonomous statutory bodies established under the Institutes of Technology Act 2006. An institute's academic council has statutory responsibility to protect, maintain and develop the academic standards of the institute and, subject to the approval of the governing body, for the making of academic regulations of the institute including those governing the conduct of examinations.

Accordingly the investigation of allegations of plagiarism and cheating is a matter for the institute's management authorities and its academic council. GMIT has a published policy for dealing with alleged or suspected plagiarism. The document, which has been approved by the institute's academic council and governing body, provides a definition of plagiarism and outlines the institute's policy and procedures for dealing with alleged or suspected plagiarism. The full document is available on the institute's website.

I understand the issues involved are complex and that the president of GMIT expects the final report to be submitted to him shortly. I take that to mean a matter of weeks. With regard to funding, the Department of Education and Skills allocates recurrent funding to the Higher Education Authority, HEA, for direct disbursement to the HEA institutions, including GMIT. The HEA allocates this grant to institutions for free fees and core grant funding and other specific earmarked initiatives. The HEA uses a recurrent grant allocation model to determine the amount of core funding or grant provided to each institution. It is then a matter for the institution to determine how funding is allocated internally.

All higher education institutions are facing very real challenges to cope with declining State budgets and rising student populations. Institutions must also reduce staff numbers in line with the employment control framework for the sector. Core staff numbers in higher education institutions were reduced by 9% between December 2008 and December 2011 while, during the same period, overall full-time student numbers increased by 12%. Staff numbers have reduced by a further 1.5% at the end of the last academic year and further reductions are required this year. It is a matter for each institution to work within a balanced budget and achieve best value for money.

There are clear accountability and governance procedures in place within institutions, and reporting mechanisms to the HEA, the Minister for Education and Skills and the Oireachtas. Under legislation, the president of the institution is the accountable officer and is answerable to the committees of the Oireachtas with regard to the disposal of moneys. Legislation also provides that the Comptroller and Auditor General undertake annual audits of the accounts and financial statements of the institution. This includes a review of all expenditure, including legal fees, incurred by the institute. The Comptroller and Auditor General regularly reports to the Committee of Public Accounts on these audits and is therefore accountable to the Oireachtas.

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