Ninth Level Ireland

“University College Dublin (UCD) was one of five public bodies which were investigated for compliance to Freedom of Information (FOI) regulations by the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) for the year 2019. The report found that UCD ‘has not managed to issue original decisions on time in a significant proportion of cases’ …” (more)

[Hugh Dooley, College Tribune, 25 June]

“University College Dublin (UCD) has spent €14.8 million on off-campus residential properties since the presidency of former UCD President Hugh Brady. The College Tribune can reveal that UCD has purchased 19 residential properties in Dublin over the last 17 years at a total cost of just under €15 million. It is understood that this practice is part of a long-term plan to expand the boundaries of the UCD’s Belfield campus …” (more)

[Hugh Dooley, College Tribune, 29 May]

“Figures for Irish universities’ expenditure on exams have indicated that UCD spent €1.3 million on exams for the 2019/2020 academic year, according to figures revealed by The College Tribune in a Freedom of Information (FOI) request. UCD’s spending on exams per student represented the largest in the country according to these figures …” (more)

[Alex Lohier, College Tribune, 7 May]

“University College Dublin (UCD) has spent several million euro buying premium south Dublin houses neighbouring its Belfield campus in recent years, as part of a long-term plan to expand the university’s boundaries. The university spent €5.5 million buying five properties between January 2017 and last September, according to figures released to The Irish Times under the Freedom of Information Act …” (more)

[Jack Power, Irish Times, 10 February]

“Compensation claims for horseplay at Trinity College were among more than 250 cases levelled at four leading Irish universities in the last seven years. University College Cork was hit with claims totalling nearly €1m in the last seven years …” (more)

[Lynne Kelleher, Independent, 19 January]

“University College Cork and Cork Institute of Technology have paid out over €300,000 in compensation claims during the past five years. The Cork colleges’ insurers have paid out €347,085 in total, according to figures released under the Freedom of Information Act 2014 …” (more)

[Áine Kenny, EchoLive, 10 January]

“The University of Limerick spent almost €100,000 on flights for its staff members during 2018, it has been revealed. Information regarding the 36 trips overseas amounting to €98,961.33 purchased by UL was obtained by the Limerick Leader under the Freedom of Information Act …” (more)

[Rebecca Laffan, Limerick Leader, 4 January]

“College spent over €1.4m on recruitment of non-EU undergraduate and postgraduate students during the 2018/19 financial year, starting October 1 2018 to July 31 of this year. The figures were obtained by a request under the Freedom of Information Act …” (more)

[Finn Purdy, Trinity News, 28 November]

“UCD has spent over €150,000 since 2017 on events held in University Lodge, the official residence of UCD President Andrew Deeks. The figures, obtained via a Freedom of Information Request, break down the spending for each year, as detailed in the table below …” (more)

[Gavin Tracey, University Observer, 26 November]

“Irish universities have purchased over 46,000 live animals for research use between 2017 and 2018, with Trinity and University College Cork (UCC) far surpassing the national average. According to records released to Trinity News under the Freedom of Information Act 2014, University College Cork (UCC) purchased 22,946 live animals in total in 2017 and 2018 for use in research, while Trinity purchased 17,038 between October 2016 and October 2018, a significantly higher number than purchases made by other universities around the country …” (more)

[Lauren Boland, Trinity News, 7 November]

“Staff at Trinity College Dublin said the university isn’t ‘exactly going to right the wrongs of history’ by commissioning busts of female scholars for its library, emails released under Freedom of Information show. Earlier this month, the university asked staff and students to nominate the first female scholar to be memorialised in a bust for the Long Room, the main chamber of the Old Library, the Irish Times reported …” (more)

[TheJournal.ie, 6 November]

“Trinity has refused to disclose how much of its collection of artwork is concealed from the public, after the Irish Times made a request for the list under the Freedom of Information Act. The College’s art collections include various paintings, prints, sculptures and statues, with a particular focus on portraiture …” (more)

[Danielle Varley, University Times, 4 November]

“Ireland’s publicly-funded universities keep dozens of highly-valued and nationally important artworks away from public view, they admit. But while some of the country’s foremost seats of learning have disclosed the works out of reach for most citizens, others, including Trinity College Dublin, refuse to say what paintings and sculptures are kept for academic eyes only …” (more)

[Brian Hutton, Irish Times, 4 October]

“An Ulster University lecturer has criticised the institution’s ‘galling’ spending after it emerged 65 staff were paid at least £100,000 each year. Right-wing pressure group the TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA) announced the finding after submitting Freedom of Information requests to 120 universities across the UK …” (more)

[Allan Preston, Belfast Telegraph, 3 October]

“Ireland’s publicly-funded universities spent about €1.5 million last year flying academics around the world on luxury flights, newly-obtained figures show. The biggest spender was University College Dublin (UCD), which paid almost €1 million for business class and premium fares over a year, records released under Freedom of Information reveal …” (more)

[Brian Hutton, Irish Times, 16 September]

“Work on a new Dublin new metro line planned to run under Trinity’s School of Physics could disrupt research taking place in the building, according to the school’s manager. Metrolink, which will link Dublin Airport to the city centre, was originally meant to run underneath the College’s Centre for Research on Adaptive Nanostructures and Nanodevices (CRANN), but the proposed route has since been altered and it is now set to lie beneath the Fitzgerald Building …” (more)

[Emer Moreau, University Times, 4 September]

“A High Court judge has overturned the information commissioner’s decision requiring University College Cork to disclose to RTÉ certain information about a €100 million loan agreement between the college and the European Investment Bank (EIB) …” (more)

[Mary Carolan, Irish Times, 3 April]

“A High Court judge has overturned the Information Commissioner’s decision requiring University College Cork to disclose to RTÉ certain information about a €100m loan agreement between the college and the European Investment Bank. The Commissioner must now reconsider RTÉ’s request, made under the Freedom of Information Act, in line with Mr Justice Garrett Simons’ findings …” (more)

[Ann O’Loughlin, Irish Examiner, 3 April]

“Since 2015, 10 allegations of sexual harassment, sexual assault and inappropriate behaviour have been made against staff members in Irish universities …” (more)

[Orla Murnaghan, University Times, 16 February]

“There have been ten cases in the past three years where lecturers and other staff members at Irish universities have been accused of sexual misconduct …” (more)

[TheJournal.ie, 16 February]