Academics say the use of the electronic device is difficult to police in crowded exam halls. There has been an increased number of breaches of exam regulations, up from 56 last year to 83. Trinity College recorded 42 breaches of exam regulations this year, along with 10 incidents of cheating. This has prompted a number of UK colleges introduced blanket bans on wristwatches of any kind.

University officials have been accused of misleading an Oireachtas committee over the way they run their financial affairs. Senior officials from colleges including University of Limerick, DIT and University College Cork appeared before the Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee on Thursday to answer allegations over unauthorised severance packages, conflicts of interest and poor corporate governance. In one episode, officials at the university of Limerik paid severance packages to two staff due to ‘employment relationships breaking down’, but then went on to re-employ both individuals as consultants.

Trinity College Dublin, Ireland’s oldest and highest ranked university, has been censured by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), for breaching the rules of its global ranking by running a campaign which they “clearly forbid”. Trinity, which along with other Irish universities has dropped down the rankings in recent years, launched an awareness campaign designed to ensure that its research is put in the spotlight and make sure key players are aware of upcoming surveys.

Irish universities have been criticized for being linked to corrupt and unethical regimes. The former head of the Bahrain campus of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) has commented that third-level Irish institutions are "intimately engaged with regimes that have human rights" questions to answer".