University of Limerick site purchase lacked formal procedures, says KPMG report

Consultants KPMG were commissioned in 2021 to review a transaction which saw UL purchase the old Dunnes Stores building in Limerick City for €8.3m in 2019, only for it to subsequently emerge that the property had not been formally valued prior to the sale. Picture: Brendan Gleeson

A marquee report into the controversial acquisition by the University of Limerick (UL) of a high-profile city centre site recommended that all such transactions go through an approvals process before being presented to the governing authority.

Consultants KPMG were commissioned in 2021 to review a transaction which saw UL purchase the old Dunnes Stores building in Limerick City for €8.3m in 2019, only for it to subsequently emerge that the property had not been formally valued prior to the sale.