Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is regrettable that the Minister of State's senior colleague is not present, given her proximity to the University of Limerick as a representative for the Limerick region. In any event, the Minister of State will be aware that allegations were brought to my attention in 2012 pertaining to alleged improper payments at the University of Limerick. At the time, I brought that matter to the Committee of Public Accounts and it went through a process. Unfortunately, Members do not have sight of what that process was back in 2012. However, a number of other whistleblowers have now come into the public domain and have made a number of allegations similar to those brought to my attention in 2012. These similar allegations were reported recently in the Limerick Leaderand widely by other media outlets. There is much commonality between all these allegations, but one common theme to emerge is that many people who raised their heads and queried certain payments at the University of Limerick were asked to leave. Many of them were paid off and removed from their jobs. In addition, many of them were asked to sign confidentiality agreements and agree to not speak about their experiences. This is quite serious, given the number of people who now have come forward into the public domain. In addition, other people whom I know and to whom I have spoken have not come forward. These are people of the highest integrity who have professional qualifications and are part of professional associations. Their integrity is beyond question and they also have come forward. The alarm bells are ringing, and Members must sit up and take note in this regard.

On foot of this, the University of Limerick has now issued High Court proceedings against theLimerick Leadernewspaper, which is quite unprecedented, and against its editor, Mr. Alan English, personally. I have a serious issue with this action, because a State-funded institution is using taxpayers' money in an attempt to gag a newspaper and its editor, which are pursuing matters in the public interest that are in the public domain. In his reply, the Minister of State might address a couple of issues on behalf of his senior Minister. Is the Higher Education Authority the competent authority to hold an investigation into this affair? I ask because the Minister of State's senior line Minister, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, stated this week that she would support the intention to have an external examination of this issue and that the reputation of the University of Limerick was hugely important. All Members agree with that and wish to see it protected. She stated that what was needed was someone independent to investigate all the allegations. Is the Higher Education Authority the competent authority to investigate this matter independently, given that it has been involved in it from 2012 right up to the present? Second, if the Minister of State does not agree that the Higher Education Authority is the competent authority, will he or his senior Minister appoint an independent competent authority to review and investigate this matter and report to the Minister independently? There are issues pertaining to social welfare and to the Revenue Commissioners, for example, that must be investigated.

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