A man has been arrested by gardaí investigating the “alleged harassment” of an official at the University of Limerick (UL), in a move highlighting turmoil in the institution after a botched housing project.
The man was released without charge and a file has been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The arrest follows months of disruption at UL over a housing deal in which it overpaid by €5.2 million when buying 20 student homes two years ago.
“An Garda Síochána in Limerick is conducting a criminal investigation into alleged harassment of a member of staff at an educational establishment in Munster,” the force said in response to questions about UL.
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“As part of this investigation, An Garda Síochána recently arrested an individual. They were released without a charge and a file has been sent to the DPP.”
No further information was provided as the force does not comment on the detail of “ongoing investigations”. Asked about the arrest, UL declined to comment.
Separately, a top UL official resigned as a director from several campus companies. Andrew Flaherty, the chief commercial officer attached to the office of the UL president, resigned the directorships on July 18th, not long after he was placed on administrative leave from the university.
Companies Office filings show he resigned from five UL companies: Unijobs; Plassey Campus Arena; Plassey Trust; Plassey Campus Centre; and Plassey Campus Developments. He remains a director of another company, UL Aviation Registries.
Mr Flaherty did not reply to questions sent to his work email.
UL had no comment on Mr Flaherty. The university said it “has a number of processes in place that are parallel to” a statutory review by the Higher Education Authority (HEA), the sectoral regulator.
“As such, it would not be appropriate to comment at this time, nor can we comment on individual members of staff.”
However, UL has made temporary management changes. In a July 15th email to staff and students, UL’s chief officer Prof Shane Kilcommins said: “I want to inform you that Mr Robert Reidy, director of buildings and estates, has been temporarily reassigned to the post of chief commercial officer.”
The university has been mired in controversy since Prof Kerstin Mey, then UL president, acknowledged the property overpayment in March. She later resigned.
The planning status of the student housing at Rhebogue, 3km from UL’s campus, remains unclear after An Bord Pleanála missed its own deadline to resolve planning questions.
A ruling was due by August 20th but An Bord Pleanála has said the determination won’t come until December 23rd because of the “current significant backlog of cases”.
The Bord Pleanála case was lodged in April by Limerick city and county council after its planners said the Rhebogue housing was “unauthorised” for students.
The Dáil Public Accounts Committee will question UL on October 3rd. “A special report from the Comptroller and Auditor General is also expected to be finalised shortly.”
In addition, UL reported “positive and constructive” talks last week with the HEA.
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