Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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64. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his views on giving the HEA extra powers of investigation in respect of concerns raised regarding the spend in Irish universities funded by the taxpayer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33202/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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There is a Code of Governance in place in the universities whereby universities make annual returns to the Higher Education Authority (HEA) in respect of their compliance regarding a range of issues consistent with the requirements of the Code. As part of the HEA role to promote, monitor and ensure good practice with regard to governance and accountability for the higher education sector, the HEA is required to review and improve processes for monitoring higher education institutions’ (HEIs) compliance with codes of governance and take appropriate action where required.  In order to discharge this role more effectively, the HEA in conjunction with my Department has instigated a number of changes to governance oversight processes since 2015. This represents the culmination of a process to build on the significant existing governance and accountability infrastructure already in place with a series of new and improved mechanisms which will provide more robust assurance of compliance with legislative and other requirements and more timely and responsive interventions to address any issues arising. It is reflected in a new Governance Framework for Higher Education.

 Changes include reviewing the annual governance reporting formats submitted by HEIs with a view to achieving more consistency and depth in returns with any non-compliance to be clearly identified. There is also in place a process of ongoing engagement between the HEA and the C&AG to serve as an early warning system of potential issues.  All institutions are required to comply with an annual Financial Memorandum with the HEA that requires e.g. balanced budgets and financial plans, compliance with Government policy on pay and public sector procurement rules. In 2016 the HEA also commenced a series of rolling reviews of corporate governance compliance with relevant Codes of Practice will be conducted across the higher education sector. The first such review into procurement practices has recently been completed.

There is currently no provision in legislation for the HEA to carry out investigations in relation to universities. However the Universities Act 1997 (Sections 19-21 refer) makes provision for the Government, after consultation with the President of the High Court, to appoint a retired judge as Visitor to inquire into any matter giving rise to the opinion that that there are reasonable grounds for contending that the functions of a university are being performed in a manner which prima facie constitutes a breach of the laws, statutes or ordinances applicable to the university. If the Visitor is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for such an opinion, he/she shall report to my Department on the results of his/her inquiry.