€28k spent on two parties at cost-cutting UCC; additional €20k spent on portrait of former president 

TWO University College Cork parties last year cost between them over €28,000, while a portrait of the university’s former president cost a further €20,000.

The figures, released by UCC following a Freedom of Information (FoI) request by The Echo, come at a time the university is grappling with a deficit of €11.2m and departments have been told to make cuts under a plan called “Project Alpha”.

One of the events, a gathering in September to unveil a portrait of former UCC president Patrick O’Shea, which came with a €20,000 price-tag, came to a total of €17,792.22.

The conclusion of a president’s term in UCC has traditionally been marked by the unveiling of a portrait in the Aula Maxima, FoI documents state.

“The unveiling was a University event approved by UCC’s Governing Authority. Expenditure was signed off on by the office of corporate and legal affairs,” the documents add.

Catering the party cost €9,263.89, while travel and accommodation costs came to €4,610.75. Sundry costs for the event, for items such as audiovisual presentations, photography, music, and flowers, came to €3,917.58.

The second event, a party in December to mark the departure of the previous board of governors of the college, cost a total of €10,616.36.

For that event, gifts costing a total of €4,400 were purchased at the UCC Visitor Centre, while catering cost €4,399.30.

Sundries for that event, covering such items as flowers, photography, and music, came to €1,080, while accommodation cost €697.06.

Figures for travel for that party were requested under Freedom of Information but were not released.

Asked to comment on the costs accrued at the two events, a spokesperson for the university told The Echo: “An event to thank outgoing members of UCC’s governing body who provided their time voluntarily over many years and an event to mark the retirement of a president are significant, infrequent events, that bring students, staff and the community together.

“Events at UCC must adhere to clearly defined policies.”

Spokespeople for both the Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT), a trade union which represents university staff, and the UCC Students Union, declined to comment.

In January, publication of UCC’s 2022 to 2023 financial statement revealed that the university had identified an €11.2m deficit.

At the time, a UCC spokesperson said the deficit represented a mere 2.4% of UCC’s overall income, noting that “Strong income growth of 5% was offset by cost growth of 8%”.

“The Higher Education Authority (HEA) has been notified,” the spokesperson added.

“UCC has initiated a plan to address the deficit.

“UCC and the HEA have agreed to review capital projects in the context of the current work plan.

“The fundamentals of UCC remain strong and the university is committed to returning to a surplus position,” they said.

In a staff briefing at the end of January, UCC president Professor John O’Halloran announced that the university had enacted a plan named Project Alpha to identify cost-cutting measures and to ensure a return to a surplus.

“UCC consistently shows strong income growth and the fundamentals of UCC remain strong,” Prof O’Halloran said.

“Our strategic plan remains our ‘north star’ and we remain committed to its full implementation.”