University of Limerick penalised for second time as €2m funding withheld

At the time, UL said that having “provided assurances” regarding its governance to the Higher Education Authority, it was thus “liaising with the department regarding the release of the remainder of the capital grant".

However, the Irish Examiner understands the university has now seen further funding withheld until acceptable assurances of its financial soundness are provided.

Some €2m apportioned to UL under the Energy Efficiency and Decarbonisation Pathfinder Programme 2021 — a fund to aid higher education institutions with retrofitting — has been withheld from the university, bringing the total to €3.7m.

The €12m fund was made available in June 2021 by the environment and higher education ministers, Eamon Ryan and Simon Harris respectively.

While UL has now been penalised for a second time, it says it was unaware that the funding had been withheld, or that its application for the retrofitting fund had been approved in the first place.

A spokesperson said that, given that fact, “UL is not in a position to comment further”.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the department said it had “withheld €1.7m in devolved capital grant funding last year”: 

This remains the position. The position in respect of other capital funding remains under review in the context of completion of capital governance assurances.

The university is due to appear before the public accounts committee this week to discuss governance concerns, with its acquisition of the Dunnes Stores site on Sarsfield’s Bridge in Limerick City for €8m in 2019 likely to top the agenda.