Ms Mary Harney:

I thank Deputy Devlin. It is a very obvious question as to how we went from €3 million to €8 million. This did not happen. The €3 million referred to, both in the public domain and here, was a valuation done on behalf of Limerick City and County Council for the purposes of declaring the site derelict and putting it on the vacant site register. It was the council's intention to compulsorily purchase the site. Dunnes took on the council and got a judicial review. The council did not succeed in having the site declared derelict and put on the vacant site register. I want to read from the so-called valuation. It was carried out by a highly reputable national company. It states that the figure it provided was on a high-level desktop basis and represented its estimate of value of the unencumbered freehold interest in the property. It also states that in order to undertake a full evaluation, it would need to obtain confirmation of floor areas and undertake inspection. It further states that it would also need to know the planning potential of the site. The valuation document indicates that in view of the location of the property, it was likely at a minimum to be able to sustain six floors and perhaps more. It states that based on this approach, it could look at a valuation appraisal to assist in determining what the site value or acceptable purchase price would be. There was no €3 million valuation as a market value. It was a valuation done to declare the site derelict to put it on the vacant site register and for the council to compulsorily purchase it. The affidavit presented in the judicial hearing in which Dunnes got a stay showed that on 30 September 2015 and subsequently the council indicated it wanted to compulsorily purchase the site. I understand it might have wanted to put a cultural centre there.

In 2013 or 2014, UL decided it should have a city centre campus as an experience for students and to play its part in the strategic development of the city. It looked at a number of sites and identified the Dunnes site as the preferred site. It is an iconic riverside site. It has been described as the preferred site in Limerick. Unfortunately, it was not available. Discussions took place with Dunnes over the time but it was not for selling. There was not a willing seller. There was a willing buyer. In April 2019, Dunnes indicated that it wanted to engage with the university to see if it was still interested. The university engaged in negotiations. Dunnes looked for €10 million. I understand from the documentation given to the governing authority that the university put €6.5 million on the table and that those involved in the negotiations settled on €8 million.

When we made the decision to purchase this site on 5 April it was a unanimous decision. I have read there were dissenters. There were no dissenters. There was great enthusiasm and excitement because of the location of the site. We were told that valuation papers were tabled in the negotiations. We made our decision based on the information before us. It subsequently transpired, as a result of a freedom of information request, that there were no written valuation reports. We were horrified as governors that we were told something based on a document that did not exist. This is why we sought an independent inquiry. This is why it is so important for me and the governing body to know whether we were misled or given the full facts when we made our decision. We are entitled to expect if a proposal is coming from the president and deputy president of the university that all of the information in the memorandum and proposal is accurate. This is what we are awaiting in the KPMG report.