“The controversial academic commissioned to carry out the flawed study on the return of third-level fees for the Department of Education is the husband of education minister Batt O’Keeffe’s personal assistant. The Sunday Tribune has established that Dr Noel Woods’ wife Katherine was first appointed as the then junior minister’s personal assistant in August 2004. She had also run his constituency office prior to that, sources said, and has stayed working with him since he became the minister for education. Dr Woods, who is a dental economist, estimated in a study “commissioned” by Minister O’Keeffe that the return of third-level fees could yield €530m to the exchequer …” (more)
[Ken Foxe, Sunday Tribune, 28 September]