Talks on structural reconfiguration between Limerick colleges hit setback

A PROPOSED structural reconfiguration between Mary Immaculate College and the University of Limerick has been unable to find a “meeting of minds,” according to a joint statement from the two institutions.

Talks took place on Thursday, January 25, between officials from all parties. 

Included in the meeting were the President of Mary Immaculate College, Professor Eugene Wall, the President of the University of Limerick, Professor Kerstin Mey, and Professor Tom Collins, chairperson of the Dialogue Group.

All three met with officials from the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.

According to the statement, the purpose of the meeting last week was to explore any possible common ground between the Department's expressed position on structural reconfiguration between the institutions and the college's aspirations.

“Despite a constructive and solution-focused engagement, we were unable to find any such meeting of minds. Accordingly, we are now suspending the discussions between the two institutions with regard to structural matters, as a consequence of which the existing relationship between the institutions will remain as currently set out in the joint memorandum of understanding (MoU),” the joint statement read.