Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for that clarification. I welcome the fact that €15.56 million has been paid over and that there is a date for the payment of the remaining €1.92 million. This has been outstanding since 2011. I am fully aware that the universities are independent. I am a very proud Galwegian and went to college in Galway. However, in respect of the foundation, the reason I raised this issue is because it was highlighted by the Comptroller and Auditor General in his report in April 2017. He pointed out that it went back to 2011. That foundation has a board composed of members in Galway and the US. If one looks at the board and foundation members, one can see that one will take an interest because of the nature of members of that board, including Goldman Sachs, Coca-Cola and Morgan Stanley. One can see where the foundation is pushing education, which is the bigger issue. The specific issue for today is that most of the money has been paid over. My supplementary question concerns the reason for this delay. Why did it take from 2011 to 2017 - six years - for this money to be paid over?

See this speech in context