DCU urged to explain why it wrote off €4.38m spent on proposed student accommodation

Planning permission remains in place on the Glasnevin campus until 2029, a DCU spokesman said.

Higher education authorities are facing calls to explain how a much-needed student accommodation project deadlocked, writing off almost €4.5m in fees without a single bed delivered.

As previously reported, Dublin City University (DCU) wrote off €4.38m in professional fees for a proposed student accommodation project after deciding not to proceed with the development.

The Dáil Public Accounts Committee recently heard claims that DCU was "led up the garden path" by the Department of Further and Higher Education in relation to the project's co-funding.

In 2019, DCU secured planning permission for a 1,235-bed on-campus development. However, the project was impacted by the covid-19 pandemic and subsequent inflation of construction costs.

Phase 1 of the project received grant funding for 405 beds under the Government's short-term activation programme in 2023, and the project received approval to proceed to tender.

Sinn Féin TD and PAC chairman John Brady told the committee he understood that the department told DCU to scale back the project to make provision for 400 students, which pushed costs up.

The write-off of €4.38m is "absolutely scandalous in light of the accommodation crisis students face every year", Mr Brady said, adding there needs to be a "full explanation" from the department and DCU.  

When contacted by the Irish Examiner, a DCU spokesman said it had to decide on the project last October because no funding solution was in place to "enable the project to proceed to delivery given the high level of tendered construction costs".

"Doing so would have resulted in unsustainably high term rental rates for students in the new accommodation units, something the university will not countenance."

The DCU spokesman said expenditure on the project included architectural design fees, planning application fees, and the costs of two tender processes, including additional redesign fees to ensure the accommodation units complied with updated building regulations.

Planning permission remains in place on the Glasnevin campus until 2029, he added. Last May, DCU submitted the project to the Higher Education Institutions Student Accommodation Programme and "continues to work with stakeholders to find a viable, affordable delivery model".

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A spokeswoman for the Department of Further and Higher Education said DCU received "approval in principle" for support relating to a 405-bed student accommodation project, subject to value-for-money considerations.

"Following the procurement and tendering process, the project experienced significant construction cost escalation. The tendered costs raised value-for-money concerns and, consequently, a decision was taken not to progress the project."

"Rental charges are a matter for the higher education institution and are influenced by a range of factors, including development, financing and operational costs."

Labour TD for Cork North Central and PAC member, Eoghan Kenny, said he will be asking his committee colleagues to examine the issue further.

"At a time when students are struggling to find accommodation, sleeping in cars, travelling long distances and families are paying extraordinary sums to keep their children in third level, questions remain about how this project reached this point," Mr Kenny said. 

"We need a full explanation of who authorised this expenditure, what oversight was in place, why the development did not proceed and whether this sum can ultimately be recovered. 

"This cannot simply become another multimillion euro figure buried in an annual report. There must be transparency, accountability and a credible plan for delivering the accommodation students desperately need."