UL warns over challenges despite €7m surplus

The University of Limerick warns that it is facing a challenge over the sustainability of its finances, despite recording a surplus of almost €7m in the year to the end of Sept 2017.

New accounts filed by the college show it recorded a surplus of €6.89m in the 12-month period — an annual increase of 5.3%. In a financial report, UL’s chief operating officer and registrar Gerry O’Brien said the university should be reporting an annual surplus of at least 3% of income to ensure its overall financial sustainability. Mr O’Brien said the surplus for the 2017 financial year was 2.7% of income.

He noted that the central recommendation of the expert group on future funding for higher education in 2016 was to substantially increase the investment level to ensure the sector was able to deliver fully on its role in supporting national economic and social development.

While Mr O’Brien welcomed a €5m increase in the State grant to UL in 2016/17 to €41m after it was static for most of the previous four years, he said it was required to meet the costs of pay restoration and awards.

Total income at UL rose by more than €20m to €268.4m including revenue from research grants and contracts which were up 18% to €42m.

However, total operating expenses were also up 8% to €261m.

UL’s financial statement reveals that two academic staff got an annual salary in excess of €300,000 in the same period. The university explained that the two staff had a standard salary of €60,000-€80,000 with the surplus payment due to the college’s intellectual property policy. The accounts also show UL reported a loss of more than €1m on its investment in the €4.3m Munster training centre which the college has leased to Munster Rugby for a 15-year period.