PAC appearance ‘reflected poorly’ on University, says UL President

President of the University of Limerick Kerstin Mey. Photo: Sean Curtin.

The University of Limerick’s (UL) appearance before the Dáil Public Accounts Committee (PAC) earlier this month “reflected poorly” on the University, according to its own Governing Authority.

A meeting of UL’s Governing Authority was held earlier this week to address issues relating to UL’s controversial purchase of the former Dunnes Stores site on Sarsfield Street, and the governance issues that followed.

UL President Professor Kerstin Mey and the Provost and Deputy President Shane Kilcommins addressed the meeting with the aim of concluding “all outstanding governance matters once and for all”.

The meeting agreed seven key issues that the University must deal with.

A statement, seen by the Limerick Post, was circulated to the entire staff and student population of UL following the meeting, addressing the latest in the series of controversies over UL’s governance.

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The email stated: “The way in which the UL delegation dealt with the PAC’s questions reflected poorly on the University. We accepted, given the legal advice, that a discussion in public session was not straightforward.”

According to the statement, a new strategic governance committee will be established in the University with the Provost and Deputy President at the head of it, which “the President has agreed to fully resource”.

The internal email also stated that “all outstanding issues pertaining to the City Campus must be tackled urgently. A timeline needs to be prepared and agreed with the Governing Authority”.

“The first order of business of the Committee must be to unblock any impediments to the Governing Authority viewing the KPMG report, which the Governing Authority commissioned to begin with”, according to the statement from the Governing Authority.
The Governing Authority, as well as the campus community, will be updated regularly, with the first report due on June 15.
The statement concluded by asking the UL staff and student body for its continued support, while acknowledging that this has been a “difficult period” for everyone at UL.
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