Review 'an opportunity to make lasting change' amid overspending 'crisis' — UL chancellor

The university has been mired in controversy in recent months, in which time it has emerged that it overpaid to the tune of more than €5m for 20 houses at Rhebogue. Picture: Dan Linehan

The University of Limerick (UL) is facing a “crisis” and a “watershed moment”, but will not waste the chance to make “lasting change”, the college’s chancellor has said.

In a letter to staff on behalf of the Governing Authority of the university, Professor Brigid Laffan said a statutory review of UL by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) will be broader in scope than just examining the controversial Rhebogue student accommodation acquisition.

“This review is going to be a difficult process for the University,” she said. “It will mean shining a light on poor practices and then eradicating them.” 

The university has been mired in controversy in recent months, in which time it has emerged that it overpaid to the tune of more than €5m for 20 houses at Rhebogue. This overpayment comes after a similar issue which saw UL bear a €3m loss on its purchase of the old Dunnes Stores building in Limerick city.

The overpayment of millions for student accommodation means that UL ended 2023 with a financial deficit of €700,000. In a letter to staff in April, UL provost and deputy president Shane Kilcommins said that the HEA would meet with the college’s full executive committee and individuals responsible for particular portfolios such as finance and governance.

“There will have to be accountability for the substantial impairment in our financial accounts,” he said.

A planned meeting of the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee was also deferred, as it was indicated that UL President Professor Kerstin Mey was unable to attend.

Professor Laffan's letter

In a letter to staff on behalf of the Governing Authority of the university, Professor Brigid Laffan said a statutory review of UL by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) will be broader in scope than just examining the controversial Rhebogue student accommodation acquisition. Photo: Liam Burke/Press 22

In her letter on Wednesday, Professor Laffan said that the HEA and its CEO Dr Alan Wall met with a range of officials at the college last week.

“Dr Wall and his colleagues outlined why they considered this review to be necessary. It was a sobering but also a fair analysis of our current predicament,” she said. “The HEA explained that although Rhebogue is the precipitating event for this statutory review, the scope of the review will be broader than examining that capital acquisition.” 

Professor Laffan said that all higher education institutions must assure the HEA that they can self-govern, and must answer questions fully and transparently about the assurances it had previously given.

The statutory review under Section 64 of the HEA Act 2022 will need to look again at what is required and expected of those in leadership roles, and the “distribution of power and decision-making" through current organisational structures, she said.

She said:

It is expected that the areas for review will include governance, due diligence, policy control, protected disclosures, conflict management as well as culture and oversight, within the University.

The HEA is also set to engage external bodies to come in and conduct supporting reviews in relation to culture at the university, as well as in protected disclosures.

Professor Laffan said: “The Governing Authority, and I believe the whole campus community, have come to the realisation that an exercise like this is perhaps long overdue.

“The review must be thorough, and it must get to the nub of the issues that have put the reputation of this Institution, the morale of our staff, and the value and esteem of our educational offerings in needless jeopardy.

“This is a watershed moment for the University, it is a crisis, but also an opportunity to make lasting change. It will not be wasted.”