Professor Shane Kilcommins:

It failed on a number of levels. To begin with, it failed in terms of how it was framed. It was presented by the chief corporate officer and chief financial performance officer. A template document was used and it indicated that the university team, which included finance, legal, and building and estates, were part of the team. What that did not disclose at the outset was that the team was raising issues, including the point the Deputy just made, namely the stamp duty issue. The director of buildings and estates highlighted very early on in this process the fact that stamp duty needed to be looked at in respect of it. The initial point concerns how the transaction was framed. It was also framed as and titled student accommodation and it was benchmarked in the presentation in terms of bedrooms and cost per bed. It was benchmarked against other institutions, including DCU, UCD and Maynooth, accounting for what it would cost to build on campus. The presentation, as presented, indicated €136,000 per bed. To build on campus, the suggestion was that it would be €150,000 per bed, and then there were the benchmarks I talked about in respect of other institutions. The first point concerns how the matter was framed.