There have been concerns for nearly 20 years about the quality of degrees from Pacific Western University (PWU), the educational establishment at the centre of a controversy involving the Government's chief scientific adviser, it has emerged.
Dr Barry McSweeney received his PhD from Pacific Western in 1994. Questions have been raised about the institution, which is not accredited in the United States for scientific and arts qualifications and which has been branded a "diploma mill" by one federal US investigations body.
Dr McSweeney is to meet Minister for Enterprise Micheál Martin later this week.
Last week Mr Martin told the Dáil that he had been informed by Dr McSweeney that Pacific Western was now "vastly different" to the institution from which he received his PhD. However, questions have been raised about the quality of the institution since the mid-1980s.
In 1987 a columnist with Forbes magazine resigned after questions were raised about his academic credentials and his research. It emerged his main qualification was a PhD from Pacific Western, which was described at the time as being unaccredited.
In early 1994, Louisiana moved to close down an office of the university registered there because of lax laws on educational institutions. The university described itself to Louisiana authorities as "an alternative, non-traditional, non-accredited institution".
In August that year, Californian authorities also tried to have PWU closed. This is believed to have failed because of the weak legislation in the state and because PWU established a sister college of the same name offering fully accredited qualifications in business administration.
Mr Martin has previously stated that Dr McSweeney's appointment was not based on his academic achievements, but on his track record in the field of leading research and administration.
Dr McSweeney is considered one of Europe's most experienced scientific administrators, with a BSc from UCC and a masters degree from Trinity College. Before he was appointed to the €120,000 a year job as the Government's chief scientific adviser, he headed the European Commission's Joint Research Centre, the EU's scientific advisory body.
Dr McSweeney did not return telephone calls from The Irish Times this weekend. In the only official public statement on the issue, a spokeswoman for his office said last month that Dr McSweeney's PhD "was based on substantial research and the development of an innovative biotechnology-based multi-research centre".
The centre referred to was BioResearch Ireland, a State body set up to promote the commercialisation of Irish biotechnology research carried out at Irish universities, which Dr McSweeney headed in the 1990s.