Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 24 May 2018

Public Accounts Committee

Financial Statements 2016: Higher Education Authority, University College Cork and Cork Institute of Technology

9:00 am

Mr. Diarmuid Collins:

I will take that one. Deputy Aylward may recall last year a similar issue was raised. In the 2015 accounts, as part of our disclosure note when we were here back then, the Deputy may recall that we were taking a challenge against the State for the element of the liability that was in dispute. During 2016-17, the matter was resolved. When it comes to the €15.7 million, there is now an agreed sharing of that liability between the State and the university. We anticipate that when we are preparing the 2017 accounts - this is now our assumption as it will all be assessed and audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General - we anticipate that the qualification in the accounts, as a result of that agreement between the HEA representing the State and the university, will now lapse and fall away because there is now an agreed funding model in place between the university and the HEA on how that element of pension will be funded into the future.