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.

An assessment of anybody’s ability to fill such public positions should not rest exclusively on academic qualifications. Some of our most distinguished leaders - both in political and business life - have had no academic degrees or specialist qualifications. What they had was a practical commonsense and a competent track record.

There have been glowing endorsements from enough distinguished people to suggest that Mr McSweeney is very capable.

He displayed a high level of practical competence and he got on well with those with whom he worked, as well as with those who worked for him. He could well be the perfect man for the current job.

His use of the dubious doctorate may suggest that he lacked confidence in the public selection process, but the Government’s handling of the whole affair is likely to further undermine public confidence. This is not about degrees: it’s about procedures.

Public confidence and fairness demand that the appointment procedures require open competition for public positions. The Government should not circumvent them.