UL staff 'angered' by implication they share blame for financial mismanagement

Unite trade union said recent Town Hall meeting 'seemed to make us all accountable' for 'utter mismanagement' over property purchases by the university

Last week, a report from the Comptroller and Auditor General laid bare the failings that led to the university overpaying for properties by millions of euro.

The trade union representing staff at the University of Limerick has told members it has “kept the show on the road” after a period of “utter mismanagement” at the institution.

In an update to members, the Unite trade union said ordinary members were “angered" by the implication at a recent Town Hall meeting the financial scandals at UL happened “almost outside of anyone’s control”.

“We have seen this before as a nation during the financial crisis. We all partied, didn’t we? Didn’t we?" the Unite memo to members said. 

“Accountability sees people take responsibility for their own actions. So, what does accountability look like in UL? The Town Hall seemed to make us all accountable, but ordinary members did not sign off on property purchases, mishandle protected disclosures or oversee a decline in UL’s cultural values.” 

Last week, a report from the Comptroller and Auditor General laid bare the failings that led to the university overpaying for properties by millions of euro.

In the case of 20 houses at Rhebogue, the C&AG found a UL proposal document “failed significantly” to highlight the risks around the purchase, and said legitimate concerns raised by officials were “simply omitted”.

UL subsequently recorded a loss of €5.2m in overpaying for the homes for student accommodation.

In a letter to staff last week, Provost Shane Kilcommins said UL fully accepted the findings of the C&AG report and that the recommendations would be implemented without delay.

“The report’s findings are very disappointing and are an understandable cause for anger and upset amongst our community,” he said.

In the message to staff in the union update, Unite’s Professor Eoin Devereux said he was sure the union’s membership “shares the anger” of its executive at the C&AG report.

“At the recent UL Town Hall meeting, I asked about what steps are being put in place so as to ensure that in future those making protected disclosures are not victimised and afforded appropriate protection,” he said.

“The well-attended Town Hall evidenced that 'ordinary' employees care about their workplace. The discussion on ‘culture’ seemed to suggest that this was all of our problem. It is, in the sense that UL’s organisational culture impacts on all of us — but let’s be perfectly clear, the now well-documented issues were not created by the rank and file at UL.”