Questions for Power

I READ Dr Con Power's lengthy defence of his academic reputation, and in my opinion he is to be commended for attempting to justify himself in your columns against public criticism (Irish Examiner letters, December 6).

While I am in no position to judge the merit of his doctoral thesis I trust that others well qualified will come forward to do so. But I would point out that at Trinity College (and, I assume, in the NUI) all doctorates must consist of work original to that degree and not based on work already published.

Further, I am baffled as to why, when we have a number of universities in Ireland at which it is possible to study to PhD level, anyone would want to go to a foreign university of lesser standing.