Ms Colette Drinan:

There are two sets of financial statements before the committee in this session. The first relates to Dublin Institute of Technology's financial year ending on 31 August 2014 and the second relates to the Grangegorman Development Agency for 2015. The accounts for Dublin Institute of Technology show an operating surplus of €4.1 million on normal operating activities for the 2013-14 financial year. After taking account of transactions relating to development of the site at Grangegorman, the net operating surplus for the year was just over €2 million. The institute's total income for the year amounted to nearly €168 million. As seen in the graphic, State grant funding, at nearly €73 million, represented the largest income source. Tuition fees of just over €59 million included €12.3 million in fees paid by the State and student contribution income of €29.5 million. The institute’s operating expenditure for the year was nearly €164 million, with staff costs accounting for just over two thirds of that figure.

The Comptroller and Auditor General issued a clear audit opinion in respect of the institute's financial statements, but he drew attention to two issues in his audit report. Expenditure is deemed by the audit to be non-effective where full value has not been received for payments made. The institute has referred on page 5 of its financial statements to a prepayment of nearly €700,000 made in July 2014 to a provider of library services. The prepayment related to services to be provided during 2015. However, the parent company of the service provider was declared bankrupt in September 2014. As a result, the institute did not receive any of the contracted services in return for the payment made and did not receive any reimbursement.

The audit certificate also draws attention to a disclosure in the institute's accounts regarding instances of non-compliance with public procurement requirements. The value of goods and services that were not subject to competitive tendering during the year was €5.1 million.

The Grangegorman Development Agency is a statutory agency which was established in 2006 to develop educational, health care and other facilities on the former St. Brendan's Hospital grounds in Grangegorman.

The education facilities are funded by the Department of Education and Skills and Dublin Institute of Technology. The institute aims to transfer most of its activities to the Grangegorman campus by 2021. The healthcare facilities are funded by the Health Service Executive. As illustrated in the graphic contained in literature given to members, in 2016 the agency received total funding of €21.6 million. At the end of December 2015, the agency's financial statements record land and buildings of €116 million, of which €41 million is land transferred from the HSE. In regard to the buildings of €74 million, €54 million was funded by the Department of Education and Skills and €21 million was funded by the institute. The Comptroller and Auditor General issued a clear opinion in respect of the agency's 2015 financial statements.