Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)

I endorse what Senator Brian Hayes said. I believe he has done this House a service. However, I wish to make a point of clarification which has been adding to the confusion about the provision of research facilities, namely, that the three existing library staff in question are qualified senior research assistants, they are not librarians. Therein lies the problem. The newly appointed librarian initiated this process. Within this structure there is an underlying tension between the profession of librarians and of research assistants. I have been attempting to establish why the Commission — of which Senator O'Toole, who made some comments about this matter earlier, is a member — agreed to the appointment of three senior research assistants, yet when two of the existing research assistants applied for the positions, along with a librarian, only the librarian was appointed.