PhD controversy - Issue about procedure, not degrees

Barry McSweeney is a very able performer. The Irish Examiner has never questioned his ability, but it has questioned the manner in which he was initially appointed as the Government’s chief science adviser without the job ever being advertised.

This has been compounded by his recent appointment as research coordinator at the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, again without the job being advertised, or opened up to other applicants.

Neither position required a doctorate degree, so Mr McSweeney’s actual qualifications for either position were not at issue. What was at issue, however, was that he essentially sought advancement using a questionable degree from an institution of suspect standing like Pacific Western University. His use of this dubious degree cast a cloud over his own skills and real qualifications.