Files reveal CIT, which is €1m in debt, spent €20k on two paintings

Cork Institute of Technology has come under fire after it was revealed that it spent €20,000 on art.

CIT President Brendan Murphy has confirmed that portraits of its president and the chair of its governing bodies were commissioned in 2007.

Dr Murphy said the college, which is €1m in debt, spent a further €2,214 on framing the paintings.

The details are contained in documents sent to the Public Accounts Committee which has been examining the finances of a range of third-level institutions.