Committee to probe 'unapproved' university pay practices

The Public Accounts Committee is to examine a report published earlier by the spending watchdog which exposed the practice in universities of paying certain staff above the approved level.

The report by the Comptroller and Auditor General noted numerous cases where allowances and bonuses were being paid "without approval" from the Department of Education.

The committee will focus on the way universities apply the budgets allocated to them by the State and how they ensure that they get value for money.