Results 18,801-18,820 of 26,685 for speaker:David Cullinane

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Waterford Institute of Technology: Financial Statements 2013-2014 (6 Apr 2017)

David Cullinane: I put a number of questions, as the Chairman will know, to presidents of three institutes. When I put to them the idea of their head of research and innovation taking up shareholdings in spin-out companies or private companies co-located in their institutes, they expressed concern. Those were Professor Donnelley's peers. Let me come to the issue of policy. I want to put a question...

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Waterford Institute of Technology: Financial Statements 2013-2014 (6 Apr 2017)

David Cullinane: I am interested in process. What I have established is that-----

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Waterford Institute of Technology: Financial Statements 2013-2014 (6 Apr 2017)

David Cullinane: Yes.

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Waterford Institute of Technology: Financial Statements 2013-2014 (6 Apr 2017)

David Cullinane: What I have established is that the owner of the policy in place in 2010 was the office of the head of research and innovation.

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Waterford Institute of Technology: Financial Statements 2013-2014 (6 Apr 2017)

David Cullinane: The owner of the policy, according to the institute's own policy, is the office of the head of research and innovation. The commercialisation office, the tech transfer office, at this point reported back to the head of research and innovation. The head of research and innovation sat on the commercialisation committee, which is important in terms of the policy-----

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Waterford Institute of Technology: Financial Statements 2013-2014 (6 Apr 2017)

David Cullinane: Exactly. A paragraph in the institute's policy states that members of the commercialisation committee who are or could reasonably be perceived to be in a conflict of interest situation with respect to any matter before the committee should excuse themselves from all involvement with the committee in such matters. It also states that any individual who is related to, reports to or is a...

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Waterford Institute of Technology: Financial Statements 2013-2014 (6 Apr 2017)

David Cullinane: There is a difficulty there for me.

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Waterford Institute of Technology: Financial Statements 2013-2014 (6 Apr 2017)

David Cullinane: May I come back in and put the questions?

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Waterford Institute of Technology: Financial Statements 2013-2014 (6 Apr 2017)

David Cullinane: I am saying this to you, a Chathaoirligh. The president has told us he was a shareholder in a number of companies - three companies or possibly four. These were spin-out companies or private companies co-located in the institute. Some, if not all, of these companies received various forms of grants from the State or the European Union. One of those companies was sold for very significant...

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Waterford Institute of Technology: Financial Statements 2013-2014 (6 Apr 2017)

David Cullinane: I am putting my questions and I am talking to the Cathaoirleach. It is very specific; it also refers to people with whom one had a business relationship, business partners. Professor Donnelly had shareholdings in multiple companies. Some of those people with whom he was in a shareholding also had shareholdings in other companies co-located in the institute. It would take me all day to...

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Waterford Institute of Technology: Financial Statements 2013-2014 (6 Apr 2017)

David Cullinane: I will put a number of questions because I need to put these questions.

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Waterford Institute of Technology: Financial Statements 2013-2014 (6 Apr 2017)

David Cullinane: There are a number of questions. Why was that policy change made in the first instance? We were advised by the HEA and the Department that there is an internal review into all of this in Waterford. Why did it take 14 months for Professor Donnelly to correct the record of the Committee of Public Accounts about him being a director? Why is there now an internal review in Waterford IT? The...

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Waterford Institute of Technology: Financial Statements 2013-2014 (6 Apr 2017)

David Cullinane: It has not been signed off?

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Waterford Institute of Technology: Financial Statements 2013-2014 (6 Apr 2017)

David Cullinane: Sorry, I have one final thing which is important. As Professor Donnelly is on the draft policy, did he contact the TUI in recent weeks and ask it to discuss that draft policy yesterday?

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Waterford Institute of Technology: Financial Statements 2013-2014 (6 Apr 2017)

David Cullinane: Did Professor Donnelly's office do so?

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Waterford Institute of Technology: Financial Statements 2013-2014 (6 Apr 2017)

David Cullinane: The HR office contacted the TUI and asked it to sign off on this policy on Wednesday.

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Waterford Institute of Technology: Financial Statements 2013-2014 (6 Apr 2017)

David Cullinane: It was sent to it for its consideration.

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Waterford Institute of Technology: Financial Statements 2013-2014 (6 Apr 2017)

David Cullinane: On a number of occasions, the president referenced a line of questioning. If he checks the transcripts of previous meetings, he will see that nobody in this committee is alleging wrongdoing but we do have concerns. I have concerns about process. It is reasonable for me to put questions relating to somebody who has an executive function - a management and oversight role - relating to...

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Waterford Institute of Technology: Financial Statements 2013-2014 (6 Apr 2017)

David Cullinane: I wish to make a point if Deputy Connolly will allow it. There is a bit of talking around the issue because with respect to Dr. Love, no one is disagreeing with the merits of commercialising intellectual property. Nobody is disagreeing with the fact that it creates jobs and we all need jobs. We had this conversation earlier. Dr. Love has spoken about what is usual and what is normal. I...

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Waterford Institute of Technology: Financial Statements 2013-2014 (6 Apr 2017)

David Cullinane: That point has been lost by the HEA