Anger as NUIG shells out €180,000 to consultant

NUI Galway is under fire from staff and politicians for spending vast sums of taxpayers’ money on consultants.

The university has confirmed that the School of Law has spent almost €180,000 on one consultancy firm for 22 months’ work.

NUIG said its School of Law paid €143,100 for ‘professional services’ from the consultants, Results Through People Limited.

This figure excludes the applicable VAT rate, which would add a further €33,000 and bring the cost of fees to about €176,000.

In addition, this consultancy was paid a further €700 in “certified expenses”, which are vouched and tax-free.

The figures were released to trade union SIPTU following a Freedom of Information request. The response to the FOI has been circulated to hundreds of unionised workers at NUIG, as well as to local politicians.

A whistleblower in the School of Law told the Galway City Tribune there is widespread concern with the expenditure on consultants. “As a taxpayer, this is not the sort of thing I want to see my taxes being spent on.

“It works out at a pro-rata rate of €8,000 per month. I believe this is a huge waste of taxpayers’ money, and there are several staff within the university who are qualified to do the job rather than farming it out to a consultant,” the staff member said.

Sinn Féin senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh said he also had concerns, and felt that the issue could be looked at by the Public Accounts Committee or the Comptroller and Auditor General.

Senator Ó Clochartaigh said: “Is this just the tip of the iceberg? I wonder what the other schools and departments in NUIG are spending on consultants. There is also an issue around value for money, and would it not be cheaper to hire somebody to do this job full-time. Then there is the issue around transparency and how universities in general are hiring consultants from the private sector.

“I believe that this is a matter that the new Education Minister and new Minister for Finance is going to have to look at when the new Dáil sits – how is NUIG and the third level sector in general spending public money, and is it being spent efficiently?”

The university said senior administrative officer in the School of Law retired from the position in December 2013, after around 40 years service.

The university said it conducted an assessment of tasks required to be completed, and requested an “external expert to recommend a number of consultants with suitable skills sets to complete these tasks”.

In November and December of 2013, Results Through People provided a “few days” consultancy services costing €2,600.

They were subsequently retained for nine months, commencing in January 2014. This contract, the university said, was renewed again the following September, “on a short term basis and on a reduced rate of payment pending the advertisement of the senior administrative officer post”.

The contract with the consultancy was renewed again in January 2015, on a further reduction of payment due in the main to delays in the recruitment process. The average engagement of this consultant in the time period up to October 2015 is approximately 15 days per month.

The FOI response indicated that the total paid to this consultancy, during the 22 months, almost €180,000 when VAT and expenses was factored in.

The university confirmed that the School of Business engaged five different consultants since 2013 but it spent the vast majority on Results Through People.

The university confirmed it paid €7,960 in consultancy fees to Athru Consultancy Limited for “professional services”.

It also hired Allen Design (€5,467), GalwayOnline (€387) and Proviz (€2,786) for “design services”.