Pressure mounts on science adviser over dubious PhD

WITH his €120,000-a-year job on the line, pressure is mounting on the Government’s chief scientific adviser to publicly explain a dubious PhD he received in America.

As controversy continues over a US doctorate received by Dr Barry McSweeney, EU Commissioner Janez Potocnik has been formally asked by Labour MEP Proinsias De Rossa whether the scientist used the PhD to apply for two senior EU jobs as the director general of the EU's Joint Research Centre and head of the EU unit responsible for the Marie Curie research fellowships.

The doctorate in question was awarded by the Pacific Western University, an institution accused of being no more than a 'degree mill' and described by the Irish accrediting authorities as not having "accrediting powers within the US".

Although further clarification is being sought by Enterprise Minister Micheál Martin, Dr McSweeney claims the university was a "vastly different body" when he received his PhD.

But despite being a direct employee of Forfas, he is only accountable to a Cabinet sub-committee on science.

A spokeswoman for Forfas last night confirmed the unusual arrangement, saying Dr McSweeney operated "independently from Forfas and is not accountable to the Forfas board or management". As a result, the Forfas board never discussed the controversy surrounding the PhD and has no plans to do so.

Forfas refused to reveal details of Dr McSweeney's contract and any severance package it may contain.

As a Government probe into the issue continues, Labour's education spokesperson Jan O'Sullivan said Dr McSweeney "should explain himself".

"We need a lot of information as to the nature of the research that he did and the way it was evaluated and who evaluated it."