Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We will send them good wishes in the context of their work in the future.

This morning, we were due to engage with the University of Limerick, UL, regarding its financial statements for 2022. We flagged the purchase of a number of houses for student accommodation at the Rhebogue site as a matter of particular interest to the committee. It has been widely reported that UL paid far in excess of the market value for these homes and used public funds in that regard. We issued an invitation to UL to attend on 23 February. That was the official invitation. There was contact with it before that too. However, the president of UL wrote to the committee on 22 March to advise that she was incapacitated and not in a position to attend.

We sought further information. On 4 April, the chancellor advised us that the president, who is the accountable person to the committee, is on certified sick leave. The new chancellor, Brigid Laffan, who was appointed late last year, stated that she has no intention of frustrating the committee in its work with delays and assured the committee of UL's intention to be utterly candid with members of the committee. She requested that the meeting be deferred to the week beginning 6 May and stated that if the president is not available, the accountable person function will be delegated before then. I understand that the Higher Education Authority has also requested that the governing authority of UL now undertake a review of governance and other matters at the university in accordance with the Higher Education Act 2022. It will be on site in UL later this month for its examination of matters of governance and everything else.

I wish to put on the record my disappointment that this is the third time in six months that public engagements with this committee have had to be postponed due to the absence of Accounting Officers and accountable persons. I acknowledge that this can be due to illness or other personal circumstances. However, in the interests of public accountability, which is what is important, and to ensure that the committee is not impeded in scrutinising the expenditure of public money, those accountable to the committee must make every effort to ensure they are present when requested to account for the expenditure of taxpayers' money under their watch. Having to postpone meetings at short notice because key personnel are not available is highly unsatisfactory and uses up precious slots at the committee. Obviously, we cannot at short notice move other people, witnesses, or bodies that we want to bring in.

In the case of UL, it is audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General and is directly accountable to this committee. For my part, and I am sure members of the committee will share this view, it is important for it to appear here. We want it here. I will open the floor to members now. I propose that we issue an invitation to UL to attend the committee. There is a slot on 9 May, which was for the OPW. We can push the OPW out another bit. We could use that slot on 9 May to bring UL in and highlight that this committee will expect full transparency and accountability in its examination of public expenditures and funds by UL. I also propose that we invite the president and chancellor to attend as part of that delegation, as well as representatives from the Higher Education Authority and the Department. I am asking that we put the Dunnes Stores issue on that agenda as well. It is relevant to the issue of the spending of public moneys and the fact that there were issues relating to the Dunnes Stores site and its purchase for an amount in excess of the valuation provided. I am opening the floor for members to comment.