Quinn awaits response on plagiarism

Education Minister Ruairi Quinn is awaiting a response from Institute of Technology Tralee (ITT) on the outcome of an investigation of plagiarism against its own chairman.

Flan Garvey was found to have plagiarised other material in two chapters of his 2008 masters in arts thesis at the college, by an external investigation panel set up after 26 academics brought concerns to the college in November.

But the finding that his degree was unjustified has been overturned by an appeals committee appointed by IT Tralee. It described Mr Garvey’s actions as “an unintentional and non-fraudulent infraction of an academic disciplinary rule” and said corrections should be put into the thesis in light of the deficiencies.