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BreakingNews.ie
13-06-2025
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
Former UL President received over €215k in last 11 months in role
A former President of the University of Limerick (UL), Prof Kerstin Mey, received a salary of €215,663 in her final 11 months in the role. This is revealed in the newly released 2024 annual report for UL which shows that UL recorded a surplus of €12.44 million last year after a combined €8.2 million impairment cost from two controversial property purchases contributed to UL recording a loss of €799,000 in 2023. Advertisement As UL President since 2020, Prof Mey presided over the controversies from the 2019 purchase of a Dunnes Stores site in Limerick city centre and the 2023 purchase of 20 houses for student accommodation at Drominbeg Square, Rhebogue. UL recorded a €3 million impairment on the Dunnes Stores site purchase and a €5.2 million impairment for the Rhebogue purchase. Now, in UL's 2024 annual report, it records how Prof Mey went on leave from her role as President on March 27th, 2024, 'and following a mediation process in June 2024 she resigned as President effective 31 August 2024'. The report states that during the reporting period up to the end of August 2024 - - 11 months - her salary was €215,663. Advertisement The overdue 2023 annual report separately confirms that Prof Mey was paid €225,559 in 2023. At a UL appearance before the Dáil Public Accounts Committee (PAC) last October, UL Chancellor, Prof Brigid Laffan told members that Prof Mey was being paid €175,000 per year while on sabbatical from her new role as a professor of visual culture at the college. Prof Laffan told them Prof May had lost the confidence of UL's management after the university overpaid on a €12.58 million deal to buy 20 houses, and it was in the college's best interest to come to an arrangement which would enable it to appoint a new president and move on from the controversy. Prof Brigid Laffan told the PAC that Prof Mey received no severance payments after stepping down as president. Prof Mey was initially appointed as interim UL President in September 2020 and was appointed to the role for 10 years in October 2021. Advertisement The 2024 surplus of €12.44 million followed UL revenues increasing by eight per cent from €364 million to €392.5 million as academic fee income increased from €126 million to €133 million and State grants rose from €80.98 million to €94.48 million. UL's total expenditure increased from €365.67 million to €380.67 million as staff costs rose from €205.8 million to €223.17 million. In her report UL Chancellor, Brigid Laffan states that UL's success has unfortunately 'tended to obscure shortcomings in its governance and internal workings which have become increasingly apparent and problematic in recent years' Prof Laffan said that 'it is clear that UL must transform once again, but this time from the inside'. Advertisement Prof Laffan said that an implementation/recovery plan has been approved by the Governing Authority and endorsed by the Higher Education Authority, and is a very welcome first step in doing that'. Prof Laffan added that 'it is in everyone's interest that UL is properly run, and I think we are seeing encouraging signs that it will be in the future. She added: 'I am confident that both the Governing Authority and Executive Committee are committed to doing what is necessary, and we will devote ourselves to ensuring this plan is fully implemented so that UL develops a strong system of governance, high performance and accountability.' The report discloses that UL's spend last year on Investigations and Mediation under Policies & Procedures - Workplace Dignity & Respect, Grievance and Acceptable Behaviours in the Workplace and Protected Disclosures totalled €97,402 that included €67,760 spent on investigations. Advertisement The overall €97,402 spend followed a spend of €75,695 on investigations and mediation in 2023. Numbers earning over €100,000 at UL last year increased from 356 to 391 in line with national pay agreement increases and recruitment. Total numbers employed increased from 2,771 to 2,818. A number of the top earners would be teaching medics and the top earner in the 12 months to the end of September 2024 earned between €330,000 to €340,000. In his own report, Acting UL President, Professor Shane Kilcommins stated that 'it is heartening to see the positive financial results for the year, demonstrating that despite it being a very challenging time for UL - as we work through the fallout from the Rhebogue transaction and the Honan's Quay acquisition – the University of Limerick financial performance is strong and is prudently managed'. Prof Kilcommins states that 'we want to put the failings of UL's recent acquisitions behind us, but to do this we will have to implement a programme of organisational transformation, to regain institutional grip and to rebuild trust and confidence in University of Limerick's ability to manage its own affairs.' Chief Financial & Performance Officer, John Field stated that 'the financial year 2023-24 shows an overall surplus, driven by strong revenue increase and inflationary pressure on pay and non-pay combined'. Ireland Helen McEntee says mobile phone pouch scheme will... Read More Mr Field said that the University cash and balance sheet positions remain strong despite the small fall in overall cash balances. He said that the University's long-term forecasts show a continued healthy liquidity position. total reserves amounted to €286 million. He said that there are still a number of risks and uncertainties including the threat to cyber security and the impact of the cost of living and accommodation crisis on student enrolment and retention. Last year, UL's income from its residences rose from €22.2 million to €23.4 million.
Irish Times
13-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
UL returns €12.4m surplus a year after soured property deals drag it into the red
Accounts for the University of Limerick for the past two years, filed recently, show that an €8.3 million impairment dragged it to a loss in 2023 but that it bounced back last year with a surplus of €12.4 million. That compares with a surplus of €10.8 million in 2022 before the university found itself mired in crisis. UL has been at the centre of controversy following losses incurred by overpaying for student homes and a Dunnes Stores stores site in Limerick city centre. The subsequent fallout prompted the resignation of its president, Prof Kerstin Mey, at the end of August, having been on leave from her post for the previous five months. The university's annual report notes that Prof Mey was paid a salary of €215,663 during the 11 months of the financial year that she was in office. Prof Shane Kilcommins, who stepped in as acting president of the university in April last year was paid a salary of €110,117 over the five months from that point to the end of the financial year. READ MORE The figures are the first since the controversy first broke. The financial accounts for both September 2023 and September 2024 financial periods were signed off in March 2025, due to 'delays finalising the audit' for its 2023 accounts. Despite being appointed in November 2023, following the conclusion of the university's financial year, the Chancellor of UL, Prof Brigid Laffan, said it was 'necessary' to comment on the accounts due to the 'unprecedented requirement for the University to include two impairment charges in the Financial Statements'. 'The necessity for both impairments arose as the University acquired properties for a price now determined to be greater than the recoverable value of those properties,' she said. Prof Laffan said the impairments 'had the effect of turning a healthy surplus for the period into an overall deficit of €0.7 million'. She said that the 'overall financial sustainability' of UL will not be 'materially impacted' by incurring the impairment charges but said the policy, controls and risk management failures have to be addressed. The Comptroller & Auditor General's report, which was included in the financial statement, said the university paid 'significantly over the open market value' in the two controversial transaction. It also confirms that UL reported 'certain concerns related to the student accommodation transaction to An Garda Síochána.' Prof Shane Kilcommins said the UL community had been 'justifiably shocked' by the situation. 'There is sadness, and anger too, at the damage that the Rhebogue controversy has done to the university's reputation. UL has been in the media for the wrong reasons,' he said. The university and its subsidiaries incurred a surplus of €12.44 million after academic fee income reached a new peak last year at €133 million. The income stream has steadily increased in each of the past four years, with the primary source being undergraduate fees. Staff costs at the university last year rose to €223.2 million, up 8 per cent. The university recorded donations of €1.84 million in 2024 and €1.7 million in 2023. 'UL's success has tended to obscure shortcomings in its governance and internal workings which have become increasingly apparent and problematic in recent years,' Prof Laffan writes in the 2024 accounts.
Irish Times
28-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Minister hails ‘exciting' degree where students spend two years working in industry
A new biopharma degree where students spend half their time on campus and half completing paid work experience has been hailed by the Minister for Higher Education as an 'exciting step forward' for how third level education is delivered in Ireland. The new BSc/MSc in immersive bioscience and biotherapeutics at University of Limerick (UL) is due to be launched on Thursday. The development comes at a time of debate in higher education circles about whether the sector is too reliant on industry-sponsored research and education in order to plug State funding gaps. UL has described the degree as a new venture. designed in collaboration with international companies such as Eli Lilly and Analogue Devices, which seeks to 'cultivate the leading scientific minds of the future'. READ MORE The companies will contribute to curriculum design, participate as guest contributors and host students on industry residencies. The first intake of students will be in September 2026. It follows a similar model to UL's immersive software engineering programme, now in its third year of operation. Students will receive a bachelor and master of science degree in four years, with two years spent learning on campus and two years working in biotech industries. UL says students will have the 'competitive advantage of two years of experience working in industry when they graduate'. Minister for Higher Education James Lawless welcomed the launch of the 'iBio' programme. 'This innovative, industry-led and learner-focused course recognises that not all learning happens in lecture halls,' he said. 'Through immersive, hands-on experiences, both on campus and in the workplace, students will graduate with not just a degree, but two full years of real-world industry experience.' The programme, he said, offered 'more choice, more relevance, a modern model of education that's fit for the future and supports the vision of education driving Ireland's economy.' Acting UL president Professor Shane Kilcommins said the new degree represented a 'giant leap forward' in the delivery of undergraduate scientific education. Students, he said, will be 'embedded in the knowledge community where they are active and interactive partners in the learning process.' Prof Jakki Cooney, iBio course director, said the course was all about developing a passion for the science of disease and medicines, about being creative and curious about the world, embracing challenges and working in teams using scientific data to solve complex problems. 'We are offering a new way to learn the science and biology of medicine making and discovery,' she said. The Government has acknowledged that there is a funding gap of more than €300m facing Irish higher education and has pledged to address this over successive budgets. Meanwhile, research by into funding of Irish universities found that industry funding of third level is increasingly becoming the norm. The paper highlighted potential risks such as the erosion of support for academic endeavours that may not be perceived as having commercial value, as well as challenges in preserving the integrity of academia in a landscape increasingly driven by market-driven priorities.
Irish Times
27-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Senior official at UL resigns after university overpaid €5.2m for student housing
A top University of Limerick official has resigned his post, a year after the institution was rocked by a botched property deal in which it overpaid €5.2 million for student housing. Andrew Flaherty was chief commercial officer of UL since October 2020. He had responsibility for commercial activities, buildings and estates when UL went ahead with a €11.9 million deal in 2022 in which it paid significantly above market price for 20 student homes. The arrangement led to the resignation last June of then UL president Prof Kerstin Mey and heavy criticism by the Comptroller & Auditor General , the public spending watchdog. Mr Flaherty had been on administrative leave since June. READ MORE [ University of Limerick proposes moving school of medicine to Dunnes Stores site Opens in new window ] In a statement emailed on Tuesday evening to UL staff and students, university chancellor Prof Brigid Laffan said he had left the institution with immediate effect. 'The chief commercial officer has tendered his resignation from employment with University of Limerick with effect from 27 May 2025,' she wrote. 'The university has accepted that resignation. The chief commercial officer has also resigned from all directorships and offices associated with or connected to the university.' A biography of Mr Flaherty on UL's website said he previously worked in companies such as Generali, Utmost Pan Europe, GE, Aer Lingus, Chill, Genworth and ESAT Digifone. In July last year, UL's then chief officer Prof Shane Kilcommins started High Court defamation proceedings in a personal capacity against Mr Flaherty and his wife Audrey Flaherty. Prof Kilcommins is now acting president of UL. At the time the court proceedings were initiated, both Prof Kilcommins and Mr Flaherty sat on the 14-member UL executive committee, which advises the university president. According to legal records, the case remains before the courts. In a report last September, the C&AG found fault with the student housing deal and another UL property transaction in Limerick city that resulted in combined financial losses of more than €8 million. The C&AG report said UL's €5.2 million overpayment when buying the student homes resulted in a 'significant loss in value for money'. There were 'significant' due diligence failures, even though UL had adopted new procedures because of problems with a separate Limerick city deal in 2019. The report also concluded it was 'difficult to see' how the 2019 deal that led to a €3 million loss 'represented value for money'. The student housing deal at Rhebogue, 3km from the UL campus, was previously the subject of a special report for UL's governing authority that found the settled €10.9 million price rose by more than €1 million when the final contract was signed only nine days later. UL has also been under scrutiny over the purchase of a city centre property which it later admitted 'significantly overpaying' for. The university bought the former Dunnes Stores property at Honan's Quay for more than €8 million in 2019. It later wrote down the value of the site by €3 million in its financial accounts. In a message to staff on Tuesday , Prof Kilcommins said a 'concept proposal' for the possible redevelopment of the Honan's Quay site was discussed. This involves relocating UL's existing school of medicine to a 'fully redeveloped, high-quality facility' at the city-centre site.
