BREAKING: Hundreds attend meeting at University of Limerick over housing overspend

HUNDREDS of students and staff of University of Limerick (UL) gathered at University Concert Hall (UCH) this Thursday afternoon to hear from its chancellor Prof Brigid Laffan.

The Higher Education Authority (HEA), which funds UL, has ordered an investigation into UL's purchase of homes in Rhebogue at above the market rate.

This news was confirmed by Prof Laffan, who was addressing the college community following a week of controversy, which has seen the president of the college, Prof Kerstin Mey go on sick leave.

The UL governing authority will conduct what's known as a Section 64 investigation into the purchase, while HEA officials will be on the college's campus at Castletroy later this month.

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In essence, this means the college will not be in a position to agree its own rules around how the investigation will take place, and will instead need to engage with the HEA.

Ms Laffan said the review will involve "extreme oversight" and "the sooner we get it up and running the better".

She referenced communication from the HEA where it expressed its "deepest concerns" over "the governance and culture of the institution and to the potential impact on the reputation and financial stability of the university."

The chancellor acknowledged that due to the overpayment on the properties in Rhebogue, the college is facing a "significant impairment" of €5m.

She said that since that meeting she has been engaging with university stakeholders saying it is important that trust is maintained in the university by funders.

Ms Laffan - who chairs the UL governing authority, which also met this Thursday - said that she acknowledged that concerns exist because what happened with Rhebogue happened on foot of a previous impairment of €3.4m in relation to the purchase of the Dunnes Stores building in Limerick city.

And she reassured attendees that she will ensure that what happened with Rhebogue will never happen again.

"That might be seen as cheap talk as I'm sure equivalent statements were made in relation to Dunnes Stores but I will guarantee you that we will put in place the governance systems that will not allow this to happen again because I have no interest in being the Chancellor of this university for the next four years unless we get to the bottom of the university to change."

Ms Laffan also defended the institution, saying: "There is so much about the university that is working extremely well where there are no governance issues. We must not convince ourselves that all is rotten. It's not. This is a fine institution."

During the meeting which lasted almost 90 minutes, Ms Laffan told attendees: "I will describe to you what the last week has been like".

“Over the last week, things have come to a head.

“And as you know, the university will have a serious impairment on the basis of that capital acquisition of €5m plus. Can I just say, as an academic, I know how hard it is to get your expensive universities, for cups of coffee, travel or whatever. So €5m is a very large sum of money. 

“I need to tell you what we've been doing since the alarm bells started ringing. Firstly, I have actively engaged with our stakeholders. It is really important for this university, that trust is maintained in us by those who fund us and those who regulate us. 

“Now, it wasn’t all me ringing them, I have to tell you they were on my case as well.

“I have actively engaged with stakeholders at the highest level to make sure that how we manage this from here on out, will do no further damage to this university.

One of the attendees, artist and researcher, Dr Eoin Callery who is course director in the MA in composition and creative music practice at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance at UL, spoke of the “terrible decisions” made my “multiple people”.

“In addition to the problems within governance within the university, we are now embroiled with planning permission, property, in the middle of a housing crisis. It's a terrible look and terrible decisions have been made by multiple people,” Dr Callery said.

“Not by one individual, possibly not by one single committee. I think any correspondence that relates to this deal should be made public. I would hope that if any freedom of information requests that come from media or other concerned parties, that they would be treated with the utmost seriousness.

“That may make life very difficult for many of us, but I would hate to see that the University of Limerick, given how public this has become - and how it is leeching into other areas of public life - refused reasonable freedom of information requests about this,” he said.

Also speaking at the meeting Prof Eoin Devereux, convenor of Unite - which represents almost 900 staff at the university said: "As a trade union, we recognise fully that the appropriate processes and procedures must be followed.

"However, lest there be any misunderstanding, the position of UL Unite concerning the leadership, management and governance of this university has not changed. Our position is consistent with the views expressed in writing by 10 members of the university executive, 73 professors, the postgraduate students union and a number of faculty management groups in the university.

"As our cultural audit convincingly demonstrates the issues we face are not only about bricks and mortar, they are about fundamental issues in the day-to-day operations of this fine, proud university."

Mr Devereux who is a cultural sociologist and creative writer who teaches at the University of Limerick, continued: "As a trade union, we are asking that the governing authority take decisive action on these issues today. We do not need another UL solution for a UL problem. University of Limerick deserve nothing but the highest level of governance and staff and students expect nothing less from the GA and its executive."

Meanwhile, the Irish Examiner is reporting this Thursday afternoon that the University of Limerick president Kerstin Mey has declared herself to be “incapacitated” to appear before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in mid-April.

They report that last Friday, March 22, Professor Mey sent an email informing the PAC that she was “incapacitated and therefore cannot honour our commitment to attend on 11 April 2024”.  She added she would “make every effort to attend at a future date in the current term”. The email, they say, was sent at 5.17pm.