UCC bought private college without liability for pensions

University College Cork acquired a private business college without picking up the tab for its pension scheme, which previously had a deficit of more than €10m.

The takeover of the Irish Management Institute (IMI), in Dublin, late last year, has raised concerns within UCC, and senior management were quizzed on it by the Dáil Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in late March.

The deal was first put forward by UCC in 2009, but was blocked for several years, because the Department of Finance would not support UCC’s proposal that pension liabilities should be taken on by the State, in any takeover. The shortfall in the pension fund was more than €10m in early 2010.