Higher Education Authority to tell committee it aims to respect colleges' autonomy

President of the University of Limerick Kerstin Mey had told the PAC it was 'not clear' whether or not UL provided the HEA with a costed development plan regarding its acquisition of a vacant Dunnes Stores site in Limerick city centre.  Picture: Seán Curtin

The body with responsibility for governance at third-level institutions will tell the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that it aims to be “respectful of institutional autonomy”.

The Higher Education Authority (HEA) is set to appear before the PAC this morning in what is set to be a seismic hearing with regard to specific examples of questionable governance among Ireland’s universities.

Two weeks ago, a combative meeting with the University of Limerick (UL) heard from the college’s interim head, Professor Kerstin Mey, that it is “not clear” whether or not UL provided the HEA with a costed development plan regarding its acquisition of a vacant Dunnes Stores site in Limerick city centre.

Transaction criticised

That €8m transaction is now being criticised on the basis that it cost more than twice the price at which the former shopping centre was last valued, with the purchase currently subject to a review by KPMG.

The meeting further heard that the university cannot provide evidence it undertook an independent evaluation of the site before purchasing it in 2019, nor why concerns expressed over the transaction by members of its own governing authority were apparently not considered.

Chief executive officer of the HEA, Alan Wall, will tell the committee that the HEA takes its responsibility for the accountability and governance of Irish universities “very seriously”.

He is expected to inform the committee that since earlier this year, the HEA now requires all institutions to sign an agreement confirming that it is “conducting its activities in line with statutory requirements”.

“This agreement specifies that the chief officer of the institution is required to keep the HEA informed, on a timely basis, of any governance issues, concerns or major risks that may arise for the institution,” Mr Wall will say.

In exercising its oversight role, the HEA seeks to be respectful of institutional autonomy but within an accountability framework. 

"The role of the HEA is distinct from the responsibilities of the governing authority of each institution and from that of the Department of Further and Higher Education.”

Separately, Mr Wall will describe the “financial challenges” resulting at third-level institutions from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Some €183m in government supports have been allocated to the sector to date since the advent of Covid-19.

Waterford Institute of Technology, IT Tralee, and the National College of Art and Design remain in operation with accumulated deficits, Mr Wall will say, with it likely to be “some years before they are fully eliminated”.

The three institutions remain in debt to the tune of €6m, €1.4m, and €0.6m respectively.

“The HEA continues to engage with the institutions who are in deficit to ensure that these are financially sustainable and return to a position of growth,” he will tell the committee.