Ninth Level Ireland

“Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the data provided on foot of a recent freedom of information request (details supplied); the analysis his Department has carried out across third-level institutions which fall under the responsibility of his Department into the fining of students for the late payment of registration fees; if this issue will be examined as part of the ongoing review of Higher Education Authority legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dail written answers, 1 April]

“A €1,000-a-day job at the new Technological University of the South East was filled without regard to proper procurement procedures, which are supposed to apply to all positions over €25,000. Tom Boland was announced as executive director of the Technological University of the South East consortium by Higher Education Minister Simon Harris last July …” (more)

[Darren Skelton, Irish Examiner, 31 March]

“More than 200 students have been suspended from Queen’s University, Belfast in just seven months for breaching coronavirus regulations, it can be revealed. In total, 252 students have been reported to the university by police, while 229 were suspended for a fortnight after flouting the health and safety rules …” (more)

[Claire McNeilly, Belfast Telegraph, 10 March]

“University College Cork (UCC) will not proceed with a project to form a ‘joint college’ with Minzu University of China, a university that specialises in ethnic studies. UCC have not yet explained why they have chosen to abandon the project, but they warned that there could be ‘repercussions’ if the former partner university were to believe the project had been abandoned due to ethical concerns …” (more)

[Caolan Dooley, College Tribune, 8 March]

“The University Observer has found that there has been a significant increase in the class sizes in the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, particularly in MSc Business Analytics and MSc Digital Marketing, based on records obtained by Freedom of Information Requests …” (more)

[Andrea Andres, University Observer, 16 February]

“A Freedom of Information request by the Waterford News & Star suggests that IT Carlow were not consulted on the appointment of Mr Tom Boland in advance of his assignment by Minister for Higher Education, Simon Harris on July 28, 2020 …” (more)

[Darren Skelton, Waterford News & Star, 2 January]

“The University of Limerick (UL) spent more than €1.4m on four advisers and external consultants over the past five years as it looks to overcome governance and HR issues. Records obtained under freedom of information show half of the spend on external consultants went to international auditor Deloitte, which previously carried out a report finding 42 instances of concern at the university …” (more)

[Wayne O’Connor, Independent, 6 December]

“The number of non-EU applications to Trinity dropped this year, after climbing by 70% between 2017 and 2019. Some 9,034 international students applied for a place in Trinity this year, down from 9,453 in 2019, according to figures released to The University Times under the Freedom of Information Act. There were 6,869 such applications in 2018, and 5,469 in 2017 …” (more)

[Emer Moreau, University Times, 7 November]

“The University of Limerick (UL) spent almost €4,000 on bed linen for its now outgoing president’s multi-million house, the Irish Daily Mail has revealed. This news comes just months after Dr Fitzgerald, a University College Dublin (UCD) medical graduate, announced his intention to resign from his position as President of the university due to Covid-19 …” (more)

[Casey Conway, College Tribune, 16 September]

“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]