Amid controversial fallout from a poorly executed student housing venture, University of Limerick chancellor, Brigid Laffan, has temporarily passed on her responsibilities to Shane Kilcommins, the vice president and provost, following a period of illness. The university is currently dealing with the aftermath of a transaction that led to an overpayment of €5.2 million for 20 residences.
The interim running of the university’s executive affairs has been undertaken by Prof Kilcommins, in lieu of Prof Mey who has taken a sick leave for two weeks. This change in management has coincided with Prof Mey’s inability to attend a Dáil public accounts committee meeting in April, inviting comparisons with RTÉ personnel who similarly failed to show up at the PAC.
This shift in duties took place when the University of Limerick received a critical report from Niamh O’Donoghue, the ex-head of the Department of Social Protection, about the above-mentioned deal. The report culminated in severe findings.
After several hours of debate regarding a planned response to the report, the university’s governing authority concluded certain staff should have the opportunity to respond to the findings in writing. In a declaration, Prof Laffan expressed her deep regret over the difficult situation citing the need for accountability as well as measures to prevent such incidents from reoccurring.
Demands from the Higher Education Authority, the regulator of the country’s third-level education sector, for an additional review on the deal and the general administrative conduct at UL were also considered by the governing authority. Although the HEA has refrained from issuing public statements, they have called for another review due to serious concerns over the university’s governance and performance. This action by the HEA is widely perceived as the primary move in a series of regulatory measures aimed to ensure the university responds effectively to rectify its financial management flaws.
The regulatory body of the University of Limerick (UL) communicated that it’s frequently consulting with the HEA regarding the guidelines for an imminent review, the details of which are to be finalised soon. During a period of insecurity surrounding Prof Mey’s trajectory, she temporarily stepped back following an appeal from 10 out of 13 committee members suggesting she should reassess her role. Among the appellants was Prof Kilcommins while Prof Mey, being a committee member herself, refrained from responding to the appeal.
Prof Laffan expressed her profound disappointment to the faculty and students about a housing expenditure oversight that came to light at her second regulatory meeting after assuming position in November. UL excessively paid more than €11 million for 20 properties near the campus in Rhebogue, a decision that Prof Mey conceded was notably over the market value, but did not clarify why.
This isn’t the first property blunder by the university; it planned to set aside €3 million in its 2022-2023 financial statements to cover the overspending on a former retail location in Limerick purposed for a fresh campus, which happened five years prior.
Brian Stanley, the chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) from Sinn Féin TD, mentioned that Prof Mey responded to the situation with a terse message stating her incapacity, providing no further details. Mr Stanley criticised her absence without a credible excuse, reminding her that ignoring the matter won’t make the questions vanish.
Adding further, he made a reference to recent news stories revealing that several previous board members at RTÉ voluntarily resigned and turned down the opportunity to answer PAC inquiries on alleged scandals and misuse of public funding.