University of Limerick commissioned emergency investigation of student union finances

An internal audit followed a request to extend a student levy, revealing governance recommendations and significant operating deficits

UL Student Life formerly operated as the University of Limerick Students’ Union but rebranded in 2018. File picture

The University of Limerick (UL) commissioned an emergency investigation of the finances of its student union after UL Student Life sought to extend a mandatory levy paid by students.

UL Student Life formerly operated as the University of Limerick Students’ Union (ULSU) but rebranded in 2018.

It is a separately incorporated company to the university, but is given annual funding through an allocation from student fees.

In April 2025, UL Student Life asked the university if the student levy, collected to fund a new €34m student centre, could be extended by six months. 

The total projected windfall of the extension was just under €500,000.

The levy is used to cover the construction costs of the new student centre, which opened last October.

When the UL Student Life executive brought the extension request to the university’s governing authority, an "audit of policies and procedures” was actioned. 

A heavily-redacted report noted that at the end of 2024, Student Life’s main company, responsible for its day-to-day operations, was running a deficit of €302,954.

In 2021, Student Life ran a surplus of €312,287, which had flipped to a deficit of €652,595 by the end of 2023. 

Its salary expenses for 2025 were roughly €830,000.

The most recent financial statements for the UL Students Union Company show the University provided it with a €300,000 loan, to be paid back over a five-year term.

The internal audit recommendations included:

• Strengthening and embedding robust financial, operational, and governance controls at UL Student Life;
• That UL strengthen its own reporting processes for reviews of Student Life’s finances;
• That Student Life’s president and deputy president “receive additional induction training on their role” with regard to the reporting of issues affecting the union to the governing authority.

A spokesperson for UL said: “UL is working closely with UL Student Life to strengthen financial controls and governance, with an oversight manager appointed to support that process."

A Student Life spokesperson said that the extension of the student levy would not have increased the amount paid by students and that the union has “implemented over 50%” of the recommendations made by the internal audit.