The Minister for Education, Dr Woods, has agreed to instigate a sworn inquiry into an alleged exam cheating case at Limerick Institute of Technology. This follows a request by the college's governing body in November.
The college director, Mr Pat MacDonagh, was informed of the Minister's decision yesterday before the matter was raised in a parliamentary question by the Fine Gael spokesman on education, Mr Michael Creed.
The Teachers Union of Ireland local branch had threatened to take industrial action if a decision on the inquiry into how the son of a department head had gained access to model answers in the summer 2000 exams had not been made by yesterday.
It originally passed a motion requesting a sworn inquiry in September 2000, which would also investigate "why an environment prevails which makes it difficult for our members to bring such issues to the attention of college management".
Dr Woods informed the Dáil that he had decided to accede to the request.
The development represents a turnaround from the Minister's position in 2000, when he told the Dáil he had no legal power to establish a sworn inquiry into the affair.
The case involves a second-year construction studies student, Mr Cormac O'Loughlin, who was found to have remarkably similar answers in three exams to the model answers prepared for those subjects. He was suspended for two years after admitting he cheated, saying he memorised the answers after finding them in his father's office when it was vacant.
His father, Mr Gerry O'Loughlin, is the head of the department of the built environment, which runs the construction studies course.
In November, Mr Gerry O'Loughlin was suspended on full pay by the governing body. At the same meeting, it requested the Minister to instigate the inquiry.
The latest development follows an independent inquiry held by a retired High Court judge, Mr Rory O'Hanlon, last year. His report suggested Mr O'Loughlin had made "a misguided attempt" to assist his son in the exams. Mr O'Loughlin has denied this allegation. He was unavailable for comment yesterday.