Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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65. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he is satisfied with the corporate governance arrangements of Irish universities funded by public funds; if he is aware of a situation (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33203/16]

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 and 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.

Section 17 (7) The Universities Act, 1997 contains the following provisions:

7) In the case of the governing authority of Trinity College or a constituent university, the person holding the office of chief officer (by whatever name known) on the commencement of this Part shall be the chairperson of the governing authority of that university under this Act until his or her term of office as chief officer expires, he or she is sooner removed from the office of chairperson in accordance with subsection (6), or the office otherwise becomes vacant.

The Universities Act also makes the following provision in relation to the Chief Officer (Fourth Schedule)

5. A chief officer shall be entitled to be a member of and preside over any and every committee appointed by the governing authority

The HEA continually monitors the governance and budgetary situation of all institutions and particularly engages with those institutions who are projecting deficits. All institutions who have deficits are required to submit 3-5 year financial plans demonstrating return to a balanced/surplus position.