Waterford IT bosses accused of bluffing to PAC

The chairman of the Dáil Public Accounts Committee, Sean Fleming, has accused bosses at Waterford Institute of Technology of “bluffing” to the committee about its relationship with commercial companies under its control.

Mr Fleming and the committee had been seeking answers from WIT and other third-level institutions about the costs and benefits to the State from commercial entities set up by the colleges. Such answers were not forthcoming.

“The president of Waterford IT came in here about the spin-off company and intellectual property and he said we got great value as taxpayers. But we asked him about the cost to the taxpayer in setting up the company and he didn’t know. He was bluffing at best,” said Mr Fleming.