Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Department and the HEA know that this has been going on for six years. The Minister of State provided information about the response from the HEA on 20 July. Although welcome, this does not acknowledge the fact that this has been an issue since 2012.

I have in my possession, as do my two colleagues, the email showing that this disclosure goes back to 2012. This person has been out of work since 2014. No one with knowledge about this case would make a protected disclosure. I appeal to the Minister of State to use her offices to ensure the person who made the disclosure is reinstated. The HEA has responded to the requests of the Minister of State.

Will she, please, get them to look at what they said in their last three appearances related to Cork Institute of Technology before the Committee of Public Accounts, the last being only two months ago when they were asked if there had been any protective disclosure prior to 2017, even under draft policy, and they said no. This issue must be put to bed. The Minister of State knows about it, as does the Department, the HEA and the president, as well as the college and its board, although, for some reason, it is not included in its minutes. They have all known about it for some time. It is disgraceful that it has not been dealt with one way or the other in six years.

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