Results 2,541-2,560 of 8,500 for speaker:John Brady
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: University of Limerick (18 May 2023)
John Brady: It would.
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: University of Limerick (18 May 2023)
John Brady: Ultimately, having gone through that particular committee, and possibly others. So, €5 million was authorised. In terms of preparing the papers to get to a point where the university was actively trying to acquire the Opera site, how much was spent by UL on the preparatory work for the bid?
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: University of Limerick (18 May 2023)
John Brady: I am talking about the finance, not what was being envisaged. Do we have an idea of how much was actually spent in preparing that?
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: University of Limerick (18 May 2023)
John Brady: We do not know how much was spent. We know that from 2017 on, a figure of €1.7 million was spent on external consultants. Were external consultants involved in the process around the Opera site bid?
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: University of Limerick (18 May 2023)
John Brady: I appreciate that but I am trying to establish how much money was spent - which was UL funding and taxpayers' funding - in trying to acquire the Opera site. Do we have those figures? If we do not have them now, can we get them before the end of the meeting?
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: University of Limerick (18 May 2023)
John Brady: That would be useful. We know that an application was made to the Higher Education Authority for funding to progress that site.
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: University of Limerick (18 May 2023)
John Brady: When was that application submitted to the HEA?
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: University of Limerick (18 May 2023)
John Brady: Do we have a date when that application went in?
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: University of Limerick (18 May 2023)
John Brady: Okay. I will come back to that in a minute. We know that ultimately, when the Dunnes Stores site came on stream, and I will get into that in more detail, the Opera site bid was dropped. At that point, UL withdrew its interest. Were any financial penalties imposed on UL at that point, or at any point since, for withdrawing from the process?
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: University of Limerick (18 May 2023)
John Brady: That is fair enough. The proposal for the acquisition of the Dunnes Stores site came about very quickly after previous attempts. Was a proposal brought before the finance, human resources and asset management committee in relation to the Dunnes Stores site?
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: University of Limerick (18 May 2023)
John Brady: I think that has already been established from previous engagements with the Committee of Public Accounts. That has been established. I am just trying to find out whether a proposal came before the finance, human resources and asset management committee similar to the proposal that came before it for the Opera site. Was a similar proposal submitted to the committee for the Dunnes Stores site?
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: University of Limerick (18 May 2023)
John Brady: I am in possession of the proposal that came before the governing authority. When did it come before the governing authority?
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: University of Limerick (18 May 2023)
John Brady: Okay. So, three days after the application was submitted to the HEA for the Opera site, a proposal came before the governing authority?
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: University of Limerick (18 May 2023)
John Brady: I presume the proposal that came before the governing authority at that particular meeting was an agenda item for the meeting?
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: University of Limerick (18 May 2023)
John Brady: Was it an agenda item for that particular meeting?
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: University of Limerick (18 May 2023)
John Brady: It was not? Okay.
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: University of Limerick (18 May 2023)
John Brady: I am trying to establish facts, Professor Mey. It was not an agenda item for that particular meeting. We have some of the minutes and it appears that the proposal for the Dunnes Stores site was brought up under any other business, AOB.
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: University of Limerick (18 May 2023)
John Brady: I am just trying to establish the facts.
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: University of Limerick (18 May 2023)
John Brady: When was that request made?
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: University of Limerick (18 May 2023)
John Brady: The proposal itself is very limited. It is a two-page proposal. Do we know when it was drafted?