University of Limerick assured Higher Education head that €8m site purchase was 'a good deal'

Dr Alan Wall, chief executive of the Higher Education Authority, told the Public Accounts Committee he was 'not happy' about recent revelations concerning the purchase of the Dunnes Stores site in Limerick city centre

It emerged in recent weeks that the Dunnes Stores site in Limerick city centre, which UL acquired in 2019 for €8m with the aim of building a city campus, had been valued at just €3m two years before. Picture: Brendan Gleeson

The head of the oversight body for third-level institutions has said it was assured by the University of Limerick that an €8m purchase of a disused shopping centre in the city “was a good deal”.

Dr Alan Wall, chief executive of the Higher Education Authority, said he was “not happy” about recent revelations concerning that transaction and he is “anxious to talk to UL about what we now know”.